Facing a Texas Online Solicitation of a Minor Charge?

Texas Online Solicitation of a Minor: What the Charge Means and What Comes Next

Online solicitation of a minor is a Texas felony. This page explains the online solicitation of a minor charge in Texas, what the state must prove, the defenses to examine, and the penalties. It covers Texas state charges only.

What Texas online solicitation of a minor covers

Online solicitation of a minor is a state offense under Texas Penal Code § 33.021. The law reaches email, text messages, other electronic messages and commercial online services. It has two main parts.

• Sexually explicit messages. A person 17 or older commits an offense if, intending to commit a listed sex offense, the person sends sexually explicit messages or material to a minor.
• Asking a minor to meet. A person commits an offense if the person knowingly asks a minor to meet someone, including the accused. The request must carry intent that the minor will engage in sexual contact, sexual intercourse, or deviate sexual intercourse with the actor or another person.

Under the statute, a “minor” is anyone younger than 17. It also includes a person the accused believes is younger than 17. That belief is one of the first things a lawyer examines.

Family members and partners often look for answers right after a charge or police contact. The sections below answer the questions that matter first.

What the state must prove and how these cases start

A defense lawyer can review the evidence in a case with you and explain what it shows. That includes the online channel, the explicit content or request, the belief about age, and the intent the statute requires. The same conduct can also fall under another law. Prosecutors may use this section, the other law, or both.

Many of these cases start with a message thread or a report. Some start with an undercover officer posing online. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children describes online enticement and the grooming tactics linked to it.

How a case started matters. Under Texas Penal Code § 8.06, entrapment is a defense when a law enforcement agent induces the conduct. The inducement must come through persuasion or other means likely to cause persons to commit the offense. Merely giving someone an opportunity to commit an offense is not entrapment. So the review focuses on what the officer said and did.

Defenses and questions to examine

The right defense depends on the messages, the evidence and the facts. These are the questions a lawyer reviews first.

• Review what the profile, the messages and the conversation showed about age.
• Intent. The statute requires specific intent. Review whether the words show intent to commit the listed offense or to have sexual contact. Jokes, role-play or unrelated chat may not show that intent.
• Meeting not required. Under § 33.021, it is not a defense that the meeting did not occur.
• Statutory defenses to the meeting charge. The law gives a defense if the accused was married to the minor. It also gives one if the accused was not more than three years older than the minor and the minor consented. Texas Penal Code § 33.021 reads: “(f) An offense under Subsection (b) is a felony of the third degree, except that the offense is a felony of the second degree if the minor is younger than 14 years of age or is an individual whom the actor believes to be younger than 14 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense.”
• Identity and devices. Who had access to the account or phone when the messages were sent?
• Evidence handling. How were the messages obtained, and what does the timeline show?

Penalties and collateral consequences

The grade of the offense sets the punishment range. Charges vary in seriousness, and a lawyer can explain how a particular charge is classified.

• A third-degree felony carries 2 to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
• That same messaging offense is a second-degree felony if the minor is younger than 14, or the accused believes the minor is younger than 14. A second-degree felony carries 2 to 20 years and a fine of up to $10,000.
• The meeting-request offense is a second-degree felony.
• The punishment goes up one category if the offense happened during regular school hours and the accused knew or should have known the minor was enrolled in school.

A conviction also brings other consequences. Under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 62.101(c), for a person with a reportable conviction for an offense other than one described by Subsection (a), the registration duty can end on the 10th anniversary of the latest of release, discharge or dismissal, except as provided by Subchapter I. Article 62.001 lists this offense among those that trigger registration. A felony conviction also limits firearms. Under Texas Penal Code § 46.04(a), a person convicted of a felony cannot possess a firearm before the fifth anniversary of the person’s release from confinement or release from supervision, whichever date is later. After that, the limit applies anywhere except the home premises.

What to expect: from first call to decision

The process has four steps. Each one gives you a clearer picture of your options.

1. First conversation. You share the basic facts. We explain how the consultation works.
2. Document review. We review the charging papers, the messages, any device evidence and any statements already made.
3. Options. We explain the charge, the penalty range and the choices in front of you. No honest lawyer can predict how a case will end.
4. Decision. You decide whether to hire us. If you do, we explain how we communicate with you and how we handle contact from investigators.

Many people in this situation talk with a lawyer before they answer investigators’ questions. Don’t delete messages or accounts. Keep phones and devices as they are until you have spoken with a lawyer.

Why Barbieri Law Firm

Barbieri Law Firm is an all-women criminal defense firm in Frisco, Texas. We defend professionals accused of sex crimes and assaultive offenses across Collin County, Dallas-Fort Worth and Texas. Our online sex crimes work covers the Texas state charges described on this page.

Heather Jean Barbieri, Board Certified, Criminal Law — Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Heather Barbieri leads the firm. Our lawyers include Heather Barbieri and Carrie Thomas.

Our team reviews the messages, the device evidence and the statute’s elements with you. Then we explain your options in plain terms.

Questions people ask before calling

Most of these questions come down to the messages, the age belief and how the contact started.

If you’re reading this after a message, a visit from investigators or a notice you didn’t expect, you may be researching for someone you love. Talking with a lawyer can help you understand the charge and your options. Call (972) 424-1902, or send your case details through the contact form to schedule your free consultation.

Attorney responsible for this site: Heather Barbieri, Barbieri Law Firm, Frisco, Texas.