Double jeopardy; CSC I; MCL 750.520b(1)(a); CSC II; MCL 750.520c(1)(a); People v Duenaz; Other acts evidence; MCL 768.27a; MRE 403; People v Watkins; Due process; Sentencing; Proportionality of a departure sentence; People v Steanhouse

The court held that defendant’s CSC convictions did not violate double jeopardy, that other-acts evidence was properly admitted, and that the trial court adequately justified his CSC I sentence above the mandatory minimum. He was convicted of sexually abusing a child. He challenged his CSC II conviction on the ground that it was based on the same act as his CSC I conviction. The court held that existing caselaw “clearly precludes this argument” because CSC I and CSC II each contain an element the other does not, and Duenaz held that “conviction and punishment for both” CSC I and CSC II “does not violate double jeopardy.” The court next held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting evidence of other alleged sexual misconduct involving minors under MCL 768.27a. Although the prosecution’s notice cited MRE 404(b), the court reasoned that MCL 768.27a “does not require that the notice be in writing or cite the statute,” and defendant already had records containing the substance of the expected testimony. Applying Watkins, the court held that the probative value was not substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice because the acts were substantially similar, temporally proximate, involved young girls living with defendant, and there was “a significant need for evidence beyond” the testimony of the victim and defendant in a case involving delayed disclosure and lack of direct corroboration. The court also rejected defendant’s due process claim because the evidence passed MRE 403 balancing and did not render the trial “fundamentally unfair.” Finally, the court held that the trial court adequately justified the 30-year CSC I minimum sentence because it expressly adopted the “same logic” used for the CSC II sentence, including defendant’s abuse of family trust and abuse of “young girls.” Affirmed.