Punishment—Any man who shall seduce and debauch any unmarried woman shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison not more than 5 years or by fine of not more than 2,500 dollars; but no prosecution shall be commenced under this section after 1 year from the time of committing the offense.

Well the way I read that, a man could be charged with this crime pretty much every day of the week.  We all know how much attempting to “seduce” a woman happens every day at bars, let alone other places.

The Lansing State Journal is reporting on three former Michigan State University (MSU) football players who were accused and charged with sexually assaulting a woman at a party, have been allowed to plead guilty to “lesser charges of seduction as part of an agreement with prosecutors”.  This charge does not require that the defendants register as a sex offenders.

Not only that but all three will face no jail time for their crime.

Also their court records concerning their crime would become non-public under a Michigan law that allows Michigan judges to close the records of young offenders as long as they meet all of the terms of their agreement and do not commit any future crimes. The judge assigned to this case stated during the hearing that she would grant Holmes Youthful Trainee status to all three.

You must be aware of what the victim stated happened to her by these three now former MSU football players.  The MSU Police stated at a prior hearing that led to the charges that the victim reported that one of the defendants invited her to "speak somewhere quiet," then "pulled" her into a bathroom and forced her to perform oral and vaginal sex; the other two defendants were each accused of forcing her to perform oral sex.   On top of that the defendant who “pulled” her into the bathroom recorded himself having sex with the woman.

Now that sure does not sound like seducing a woman to me, it sounds like rape.  It is a shame that these prosecutors choose to charge these men of a much lesser crime.

It should be noted that the Ingham County Assistant Prosecutor Steve Kwasnik stated that the victim had been consulted and approved of the terms of the plea agreements.

The Ingham County Prosecuting Attorney Carol Siemon stated in a statement:

The plea to seduction is a tool that we have as prosecutors, but it is an imperfect tool. It allows the criminal justice system to acknowledge the victim, and it provides an incentive for that offender to plea, in particular because it’s not an offense that requires that they register as a sex offender.

That being said let us focus on the actual Michigan Penal Code Act 328 of 1931 and how it can still be a law today.

As I stated above; men attempt to “seduce” woman every day, it is human nature.  How can this law be allowed to still be a law in the State of Michigan today?

My concern is any man on any given day could actually be charged with this crime, and oh by the way why is it not a crime for a woman to “seduce and debauch any unmarried man”?  Are women and men not supposed to be held to the same standards these days and treated equally?

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