Charged with an Online Sex Crime While Your Divorce Is Pending?

If you face an online sex crime charge during divorce in Texas, two courts may look at the same facts. A statement, a filing or a bond condition in one case can change the other. Here is how the two cases connect, what the defense examines and what the first weeks look like.

What an online sex crime charge during a divorce or custody fight means

An online sex crime charge during a divorce or custody fight means two legal problems are moving at once.

Most of these cases start one of two ways. The first is an arrest in an online solicitation sting. The second is an accusation that a man touched a child. In both, the accusation can surface while a divorce, custody dispute or CPS case is already open.

Texas Penal Code § 33.021 covers online solicitation of a minor. The statute defines a minor to include a person the actor believes is younger than 17. That is how sting cases are charged.

Touching a child can lead to other charges, such as indecency with a child under § 21.11.

The criminal case and the family case are separate proceedings. Each has its own judge, deadlines and rules, even though the same facts often drive both.

Online child cases can also involve more than one agency. The federal ICAC Task Force Program supports investigations of technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation.

How the criminal case and the family case affect each other

A statement or filing made in one case can become evidence in the other.

• Testimony and statements: words said at a custody hearing, in mediation or in a CPS interview.
• Messages: texts or emails to your spouse about the accusation.
• Sworn filings: an answer or declaration about your child in the divorce. Review these before you sign.
• Temporary orders: the family court may consider the allegation when it sets temporary orders.

Child statements have special rules. Under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure art. 7B.004, a statement by a child younger than 14 who is the victim of a listed sex offense, and that describes the offense committed against the child, can be admissible at a protective order hearing.

At the close of a protective order hearing, the court must find whether family violence has occurred, under Texas Family Code § 85.001.

The two cases also move on different timelines. The custody case may move faster than the criminal case. Track both sets of dates together. Silence can look different in each setting, so plan every answer across both cases.

What the criminal defense examines in the accusation and the evidence

A criminal defense starts by testing the exact statute charged and the proof behind each element.

For solicitation, the State must show a person, over the Internet, by email, text or another electronic message service, knowingly solicited a minor to meet him or another person, with intent that the minor engage in sexual contact, sexual intercourse or deviate sexual intercourse with him or another person. Under the online solicitation statute, it is not a defense that the meeting did not occur.

The review covers several areas:

• The charge: the charging papers, the exact statute and the ages alleged.
• Chat logs and images: who controlled the account, when it was accessed and whether messages are complete and in order.
• The sting or investigation: the identity used, the messages sent, the timing and the police reports.
• Device searches: what was searched, under what authority and whether custody of each device was documented.
• Child allegations: the child’s statements, the interview method, any medical findings and the family dispute around the accusation.

Defenses depend on the charge. Some solicitation cases have a defense where the actor was married to the minor, or was not more than three years older 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.”

Punishment also depends on the charge. A first-degree felony is punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life or for any term of not more than 99 years or less than 5 years, and may also carry a fine not to exceed $10,000, under Texas Penal Code § 12.32.

What to expect in the first weeks after the arrest or accusation

The first weeks set bond terms, CPS steps and family-court orders. Each can carry its own deadline.

• Bond conditions: some bonds limit contact with children, the other parent or a protected person. Even a short reply can count if the order bars communication. Ask before you respond.
• CPS contact: ask a lawyer before any interview or home visit.
• Temporary orders: the first family hearing often sets the early schedule for time with your children.
• The State’s file: the review of evidence may take weeks or months.
• One deadline list: write every date from both cases in one place.

No lawyer can promise how a case will end. The early weeks decide which evidence is preserved and which choices are still open.

Your criminal case while other matters are also open

The safest course is to avoid any step that can be used against you in either case.

• Do not discuss the accusation with your children, the other parent or school staff until you get advice.
• Keep records of your role as a parent, including pick-up messages, schedules and parenting time.
• Write down the names of people who saw you with your children, and share them with your lawyer.
• Expect that an evaluation or home study may be ordered. How you act during it can matter.
• Keep social media quiet about the case, the other parent and the accusation.

Keep messages with the other parent short and in writing. Check bond terms before every message.

Why Barbieri Law Firm for this situation

Barbieri Law Firm is an all-women criminal defense firm in Frisco, Texas, serving clients across Collin County, Dallas-Fort Worth and Texas.

The firm defends people accused of sex crimes and assaultive offenses. That includes online sex crimes, child sex crimes, aggravated sexual assault, aggravated assault and family violence.

Heather Jean Barbieri, Board Certified, Criminal Law — Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

The firm’s lawyers include Heather Barbieri and Carrie Thomas. Support staff keep the office running.

We review the criminal evidence and the charging documents together. Divorce and custody matters are outside our criminal defense practice. We look at how statements made in the family case could affect the criminal case and explain your options. We explain your options at each stage and keep you informed about the next steps.

Questions a man facing this charge often asks

A charge is not a conviction, and both cases affect what happens with your children.

Take the next step toward your case

If a criminal case and a custody fight are both open, you are carrying two problems at once.

The choices you make in the coming weeks affect your freedom and your time with your children. You don’t have to sort out both cases alone.

Talk with the Barbieri Law Firm team about your case. Call (972) 424-1902, or send your case details through our contact page. The first consultation is free, confidential and carries no obligation to continue.

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