A detective’s call, a protective order or an arrest warrant can change your life in one day. If you need a sexual assault 22.011 charge defense lawyer Texas, the first step is understanding the charge. This page explains the offense, how Texas defines consent, what is at stake, and the early steps that matter most.

What a Penal Code 22.011 Sexual Assault Charge Means

A 22.011 charge accuses you of causing sexual penetration or sexual organ contact without the other person’s consent. Texas Penal Code § 22.011 lists the acts it covers. These include penetration of the anus, sexual organ or mouth, and contact between a sexual organ and another person’s mouth, anus or sexual organ.

The statute also covers sexual conduct with a child. A child is a person younger than 17. The offense applies even if the actor did not know the child’s age.

Being accused is not the same as being convicted. The charge starts a legal process, and the facts get tested inside it. Many of these cases involve a relationship, a workplace, a social event or a night that two people remember differently. Messages, calendars, witnesses and the timeline often matter from day one.

Defining Consent in Texas

Consent is usually the central question in a 22.011 case. For sexual assault under Subsection (a)(1), the Texas Penal Code § 22.011 statute says when conduct counts as being without consent.

• The actor uses physical force, violence or coercion to make the other person take part.
• The actor threatens harm, and the other person believes the actor can carry it out.
• The other person has not consented, is unconscious or physically unable to resist, and the actor knows it.
• The actor knows a mental disease or defect keeps the other person from understanding or resisting the act.
• The other person is unaware the sexual assault is happening.
• The actor knows the other person is intoxicated or impaired enough that they cannot consent.

Intoxication, prior relationships and the lack of injury are areas where the evidence needs close review. The defense looks at the timeline, the messages and each statement in these areas. It does not assume how they cut.

Don’t write out the night for anyone except your lawyer. Notes, texts and emails can be requested and used in the case.

How Sexual Assault Differs From Assault and Aggravated Sexual Assault

Sexual assault under 22.011 involves sexual conduct without consent, and also sexual conduct involving a child younger than 17, such as causing the penetration of the anus or sexual organ of a child by any means. General assault and aggravated sexual assault are separate offenses with their own elements.

• Assault: Texas Penal Code § 22.01 covers intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury, intentionally or knowingly threatening imminent bodily injury, or intentionally or knowingly causing physical contact with another when the person knows or should reasonably believe the other will regard the contact as offensive or provocative.
• Sexual assault: Section 22.011 covers sexual penetration or sexual organ contact without consent.
• Aggravated sexual assault: Texas Penal Code § 22.021 adds specific facts. These include serious bodily injury, a deadly weapon, or a victim younger than 14. It is a first-degree felony.

The same event can lead to different charges. Read the police report, the charging language and the indictment line by line.

What Is at Stake: Penalties, Registration and Your Career

A conviction can bring prison time, fines, sex offender registration and consequences for your job and family. Each piece follows its own rules.

• Prison and fines: Sexual assault is generally a second-degree felony. A second-degree felony carries 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000 (Texas Penal Code § 12.33).
• Aggravated cases: A first-degree felony carries life, or 5 to 99 years, and a fine of up to $10,000 may also be imposed (Texas Penal Code § 12.32).
• Registration: Texas Code of Criminal Procedure art. 62.001 lists sexual assault among the offenses Chapter 62 covers. Chapter 62 governs sex offender registration.
• Work and licenses: Employers and licensing boards are separate from the criminal court. Each follows its own process.
• Home: A protective order can bar contact, and going to or near the residence, place of employment or business, child-care facility or school of the protected person or any member of their family or household. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure art. 7B.005 lists these conditions. Violating an order or bond condition in a family violence, sexual assault or abuse, indecent assault, stalking, or trafficking case can be its own offense under Texas Penal Code § 25.07.

Know what you must avoid at home before any hearing.

What Our Defense Covers

The defense starts with the paperwork, then moves to the evidence and your options. We explain each step before you decide.

• Records: The police report, the probable cause affidavit, any warrant, and any protective order or bond conditions.
• Evidence: Phone and message records, video, medical or forensic records if they exist, and witness accounts.
• Communications: No statements to police or a detective without your lawyer. No contact with the complaining person. No talk about the case with colleagues or on social media.
• Court process: Bond, arraignment, grand jury review, pretrial hearings, and plea or trial decisions in Collin County and across Texas.

You make the decisions about your case after you get advice. No lawyer can predict or ensure an outcome.

What to Expect: The Steps in a Texas Sexual Assault Case

Most felony cases move through the same stages, from the first contact to a decision on plea or trial.

1. First contact. Reach out before any police interview, so your lawyer can advise you first.
2. First consultation. The first consultation is free, confidential and carries no obligation to continue.
3. Early steps. Your lawyer reviews bond conditions, any protective order, and the documents you already have.
4. Investigation. The evidence review continues, and you hear what it shows as it develops.
5. Charging and court decisions. Grand jury review, pretrial hearings, negotiations or trial preparation come next. Each one is explained before it arrives.

These are typical stages, not a fixed calendar. Ask your lawyer where your case stands at each stage.

Why Barbieri Law Firm

Barbieri Law Firm is an all-women criminal defense firm in Frisco, Texas. It defends professionals accused of sex crimes and assaultive offenses across Collin County, Dallas-Fort Worth and Texas.

Heather Jean Barbieri, Board Certified, Criminal Law — Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Heather Barbieri is the founding attorney of the firm. Carrie Thomas is also a lawyer at the firm.

Our team reviews each case from the paperwork forward. We describe what we do and how we do it. We don’t rank our work against anyone else’s.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Most people with these questions want to know what to do in the next 24 hours. The short answers below start there.

Facing Sexual Assault Charges? Talk to a Lawyer Before You Respond

If a detective has called you, a protective order has reached your home, or a warrant has been issued, you don’t have to sort this out alone. You want to protect your career, your family and your freedom. Talking with a sexual assault 22.011 charge defense lawyer before you respond to anyone is a practical first step. Send us your case details and we will set up your consultation.