No Contact Order in a Texas Sex Crime Case: What to Know

Short Answer: Your Bond Conditions Control Contact

A no contact order in a Texas sex crime case can be written into your bond conditions. Those written terms decide who you can contact, how you can contact them, and where you can go. Breaking a covered condition can be a separate crime. Texas Penal Code § 25.07 makes it an offense to knowingly or intentionally commit certain acts in violation of a bond condition in a family violence, sexual assault or abuse, indecent assault, stalking, or trafficking case, when the condition relates to the safety of a victim or the community.

The accuser’s conduct does not change your conditions. If the accuser texts, calls, or asks to meet, your conditions still apply. The order binds you, and the exact words on your paperwork set your limits. This page gives general information only and cannot replace those words. A lawyer can read them with you and explain what each line covers.

How No-Contact Conditions Are Set at Magistration

After an arrest, you appear before a magistrate. That appearance is often where protective conditions begin. The magistrate can act on their own motion or on request (Texas Code of Criminal Procedure art. 17.292). Under Art. 17.292(j), the defendant shall be served a copy of the order by the magistrate or the magistrate’s designee, in person or electronically.

An emergency order must carry a warning in capital letters. The warning says a violation can bring a fine of as much as $4,000, jail for as long as one year, or both. Under Art. 17.292(j), an order for emergency protection issued under subsection (a) or (b)(1) remains in effect for not less than 61 days and up to the 91st day after the date of issuance.

Conditions can also appear on the bond form or in a separate order. Check whether the terms name the accuser, a family member, a home, a workplace, or a school. Sex crime and family violence cases can carry conditions that differ from an ordinary misdemeanor. Don’t assume yours match someone else’s. Keep every copy you receive, because the wording is what you’ll need to follow day to day.

What Counts as Contact: Direct, Indirect, and Through Others

Direct contact includes calls, texts, letters, social media messages, comments, and face-to-face encounters. Indirect contact covers messages passed through friends, relatives, coworkers, or a partner. The statute reaches threats sent through another person to a protected individual or a family member (Texas Penal Code § 25.07). It also covers communication with the protected person when the order bans all contact, except through your attorney or a person the court appoints.

Online posts and comments about the accuser raise the same question. Whether a post counts depends on the order’s wording.

Children need close attention. The statute covers a child care facility, residence, or school where a protected child normally lives or attends, when the order describes it (Texas Penal Code § 25.07). A protective order that restricts locations must describe each prohibited place and, if any, the minimum distance the alleged offender must keep from it (Texas Code of Criminal Procedure art. 7B.005). This requirement does not apply when the court has received a request to maintain confidentiality of the locations. School pickups, daycare drop-offs, and custody exchanges are where the exact wording matters most. Ask for those terms in writing.

Bond Conditions Versus a Protective Order

A bond condition is part of your release in the criminal case. A protective order is a separate order with its own process.

Duration also differs. If a protective order states no period, it lasts until the second anniversary of its issuance (Texas Code of Criminal Procedure art. 7B.007). Each order has its own wording, duration, and enforcement path. Two orders can exist at the same time, so check each one separately.

Firearms add another layer. A protective order can bar firearm possession, unless the alleged offender is a peace officer actively engaged in employment as a sworn, full-time paid employee of a state agency or political subdivision (Texas Code of Criminal Procedure art. 7B.005). Under Section 1.07, Penal Code, a peace officer is a person elected, employed, or appointed as a peace officer under Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure, Section 51.212 or 51.214, Education Code, or other law. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives describes these federal restrictions as well.

What Happens If a Condition Is Violated

A violation can be a new crime on top of the original charge. Under Texas Penal Code § 25.07, the same conduct can be prosecuted under that section, under another section, or under both. In some situations, the statute makes a violation a state jail felony. One example is a violation of the kinds listed in Subsection (a)(1), (2), (3), (5), (6), or (7), such as committing family violence, communicating with the protected person, going to a protected place, harming a pet, tampering with a GPS monitor, or tracking a protected person’s property, committed while the person possesses a deadly weapon.

The statute also limits who an officer may arrest. An officer investigating a possible violation may not arrest the protected person for violating that order.

A violation can lead to a request that the court act on your release. Every case is different, so questions about your bond are worth raising at a consultation with your lawyer. The process can move quickly once it starts. If you are unsure whether an act is allowed, ask before you act, not after.

Asking the Court to Modify No-Contact Conditions

A defense lawyer can ask the court to clarify, modify, or narrow conditions. The judge decides any request. No lawyer can promise how a judge will rule. Under Art. 17.292(j), after notice to each affected party and a hearing, the issuing court may modify all or part of an order issued under this article if the court makes the findings the statute requires. Among the conditions for modifying an emergency protection order, the modification must not in any way endanger a person protected under the order.

Typical requests address daily needs. They may clarify which contact is prohibited, address school and child logistics, or adjust distance limits where the court allows it. Clear requests focus on the exact places and distances the order names.

Questions about evidence, such as medical records or DNA, bear on the case itself. They do not decide bond terms.

Bring Your Bond Papers to a Free Consultation

If your bond papers bar contact with the person who accused you or with a child, you may not know whether a text, a school pickup, or a custody exchange is allowed. Barbieri Law Firm can review your bond paperwork and the options for asking the court to clarify or change those conditions. The initial consultation is free, confidential, and with no obligation to continue. Call (972) 424-1902 or send your case details through the contact page.

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