Mich. Comp. Laws » Michigan Compiled Laws / Chapter 750 / Act 328 of 1931
Michigan Compiled Laws

Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.452 (2026)

House of ill-fame or for purpose of prostitution or lewdness; keeping, maintaining, or operating as felony; penalty.

✓ current as of July 2026
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THE MICHIGAN PENAL CODE


Act 328 of 1931


750.452 House of ill-fame or for purpose of prostitution or lewdness; keeping, maintaining, or operating as felony; penalty.

Sec. 452.

    A person who keeps, maintains, or operates, or aids and abets in keeping, maintaining, or operating, a house of ill-fame, bawdy house, or any house or place resorted to for the purpose of prostitution or lewdness is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or by a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both.

History: 1931, Act 328, Eff. Sept. 18, 1931 ;-- CL 1948, 750.452 ;-- Am. 2014, Act 331, Imd. Eff. Oct. 16, 2014

FormerLaw Notes:

    See section 10 of Ch. 158 of R.S. 1846, being CL 1857, § 5865; CL 1871, § 7700; How., § 9286; CL 1897, § 11697; CL 1915, § 15471; CL 1929; § 16826; Act 34 of 1887; Act 37 of 1927; and Act 40 of 1927.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 9 cases, 1969–2020 · leading case: People v. Martin, 721 N.W.2d 815 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006).
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People v. Martin, 721 N.W.2d 815 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 22× “Thompson (Thompson) and Roger W Brown (Brown) were convicted of keeping, maintaining, or operating a house of ill-fame, bawdy house, or any house or place resorted to for the purpose of prostitution or lewdness (keeping *286 a house of prostitution) in violation of MCL 750.452.…”
People v. Warren, 535 N.W.2d 173 (Mich. 1995). · cites it 2× “I do not wish to be understood as having expressed an opinion whether § 452 may properly be read as including the imposition of penal sanctions for maintaining a massage parlor.”
People v. Martin, 752 N.W.2d 457 (Mich. 2008). · cites it 2× “The basis of the racketeering charge rested on the predicate offenses of maintaining a house of ill fame, MCL 750.452, and knowingly accepting or receiving the earnings of a prostitute, MCL 750.”
People v. Harrison, 255 N.W.2d 682 (Mich. Ct. App. 1977). · cites it 4× “712, and maintaining, operating, or keeping or aiding and abetting in the maintaining, operating, or keeping of a house of ill-fame or a bawdy house, MCLA 750.452; MSA 28.707. He was sentenced to a term in prison of 12-1/2 to 30 years.”
People v. Haywood, 184 N.W.2d 537 (Mich. Ct. App. 1970). · cites it 2× “The defendant was convicted on April 30, 1969 in a non-jury trial of keeping a house of ill fame in violation of MCLA § 750.452 (Stat Ann 1954 Rev § 28.707) and sentenced to prison for a period of four to five years.”
People v. Mayes, 205 N.W.2d 212 (Mich. Ct. App. 1973). “Defendant appeals, as of right, from her plea-based conviction of, and sentence for, operating a bawdy house or house or place *483 resorted to for the purpose of prostitution (MCLA 750.452; MSA 28.707). At the preliminary examination, no showing was made by the people that the…”
People of Michigan v. Amber R Speed (Mich. Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 2× “[MCL 750.452, MCL 750.455, MCL 750.457, MCL 750.”
People v. Logan, 169 N.W.2d 504 (Mich. Ct. App. 1969). “Defendant’s jury trial resulted in his conviction of violating CL 1948, § 750.452 (Stat Ann 1954 Rev § 28.707). The statute makes it a crime to keep, maintain or operate a house of ill fame, or to aid and abet in doing so.”
People of Michigan v. Christopher Jalen Lowery (Mich. Ct. App. 2020). “457, one count of maintaining a house of prostitution, MCL 750.452, and one count of conducting a criminal enterprise, MCL 750.”
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