State Rep. Donni Steele today celebrated House passage of legislation she championed to strengthen Michigan’s criminal sexual conduct laws, ensuring the consequences for sexual violence are proportionate to the severity of the offense.

“These are not minor offenses,” said Steele (R-Orion Township). “The victims of sexual violence can carry the physical, emotional, and psychological consequences of these crimes for the rest of their lives. Michigan’s criminal justice system must make clear that these crimes will be taken seriously and that those who commit them will be held accountable.”

During committee testimony, Steele quoted philosopher and economist Adam Smith: “To have compassion for the guilty is to have cruelty for the innocent.”

House Bills 6259 through 6263 address each degree of criminal sexual conduct. The package establishes stronger minimum penalties for first-, second-, and third-degree offenses. It also reclassifies fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct from a misdemeanor to a felony.

Steele sponsored House Bill 6262, which strengthens penalties for third-degree criminal sexual conduct by establishing a minimum five-year prison sentence and allowing for a sentence of up to life in prison.

Steele pointed to a disturbing Oakland County case earlier this year as an example of why stronger consequences are needed. According to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, a suspect accused of a violent attack in which he shot a mother who had her young son with her and stole her car was already on probation for a previous incident in which he allegedly duct-taped a woman, hog-tied her to a bed, briefly suffocated her and threatened her with sexual violence. The investigating agency had sought an assault-with-intent-to-murder charge, but the suspect ultimately received a lesser charge and probation rather than prison time.

“This is exactly the kind of egregious crime this legislation is designed to address,” Steele said.

The package now moves to the Senate for consideration.