ST. MARY'S COUNTY, Md. — A California, Maryland man was arrested on sex crimes charges after police say he engaged in "sexual activity" with a 12-year-old, St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.
Michael Tran, 19, was arrested and charged with multiple sex crimes Thursday – including second-degree rape and a third-degree sex offense.
According to the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, Tran allegedly engaged in sexual activity with the 12-year-old at a "social function" on June 14.
He was arrested a day later and transported to the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Leonardtown.
The state of Maryland has ended a decades-old law that allowed marriage to be used as a defense in cases of sexual assault. Up until this year, in certain sexual assault cases, if a victim and suspect were married prosecutors could not bring charges to the courtroom.
“It is 2023, that is archaic, your rights should be the same whether you’re married or not,” said Lisae Jordan of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault.