What Is Considered a Sex Crime in Texas?

What is considered a sex crime in Texas? A sex crime is an offense where the alleged conduct involves sexual contact, sexual intercourse, or sexual communication, in person or online. Texas does not use one label for all of them.

Which offenses fall under Texas sex crime law?

The Texas Penal Code’s offense of Online Solicitation of a Minor applies to a person who is 17 years of age or older and who acts with intent to commit a listed offense over the Internet or through electronic messaging. The Texas Penal Code’s offense of Possession or Promotion of Child Pornography defines a “depiction of a child” to include an image of a person who was younger than 18 years of age at the time the image was made.

It helps to sort these offenses into four groups. The first group involves adults, such as sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault. The second involves children, such as indecency with a child. The third covers online conduct. The fourth includes other sexual offenses, such as public lewdness and indecent exposure.

Each group turns on a few key facts: consent, age, force, and whether the conduct happened online. For an overview of the firm’s work in this area, see the online sex crimes defense page.

What separates sexual assault from aggravated sexual assault?

Sexual assault is the base offense. Aggravated sexual assault adds a more serious circumstance to the same kind of conduct.

Under Penal Code § 22.011, a person commits sexual assault by intentionally or knowingly causing penetration of another person’s anus or sexual organ without that person’s consent. The statute also covers penetration of the mouth and certain contact involving the sexual organ. Conduct involving a child is covered regardless of whether the actor knows the child’s age.

Examples include causing serious bodily injury, using a deadly weapon, threatening death or serious harm, acting with another person, or giving a substance to impair the victim. The offense also applies when the victim is younger than 14, or is an elderly or disabled individual.

Aggravated sexual assault is a first-degree felony. The minimum prison term rises to 25 years when the victim is younger than six years of age (Penal Code § 22.021(f)). It also rises when the victim is younger than 14 and the offense happens in one of the ways the statute lists.

How does Texas define consent in these cases?

This article covers only some of the circumstances that Texas Penal Code § 22.011(b) describes as without consent; the statute contains others. Under Penal Code § 22.011(b), the sexual assault statute says the conduct is without consent when the actor:

• compels the other person by physical force, violence, or coercion;
• threatens force or violence, and the other person believes the actor can carry it out;
• knows the other person is unconscious or physically unable to resist;
• knows the other person is unaware the assault is occurring;
• intentionally impairs the other person by administering a substance without that person’s knowledge (§ 22.011(b)(6));
• knows, because of a mental disease or defect, that the other person cannot appraise the act or resist it.

A question about any one of them is a question about facts. Courts look at what was said and done, what the other person knew, and what the actor knew.

Which offenses involve children under Texas law?

Texas has several offenses for sexual conduct involving a child. The right statute depends on the conduct and the child’s age.

Penal Code § 21.11 covers indecency with a child. It applies to a child younger than 17. It covers sexual contact with that child, and certain exposure conduct. Sexual contact is a second-degree felony, and exposure is a third-degree felony. The statute also lists defenses in some cases, including one for a spouse.

Penal Code § 21.02 covers continuous sexual abuse. It requires two or more acts of sexual abuse during a period of 30 or more days. The actor must be 17 or older. The victim must be a child younger than 14 or a disabled individual. The offense is a first-degree felony, punishable by life or by 25 to 99 years. The listed acts include sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault.

Is the age of consent 17 in Texas?

Texas uses several ages, not one. Under the Texas Penal Code’s sexual assault statute, “child” means a person younger than 17 years of age.

Indecency with a child covers children younger than 17. Online solicitation treats a minor as anyone younger than 17, or anyone the actor believes is younger than 17. Continuous sexual abuse and aggravated sexual assault focus on whether the child is younger than 14.

Texas also has a narrow defense for close-in-age cases, often called the Romeo and Juliet defense. The statute sets other conditions too. The defense applies only when every listed condition is met. The online solicitation statute has a similar defense, so the exact wording of each statute controls.

What counts as an online sex crime in Texas?

Online sex crimes involve electronic messages, chats, images, or meeting requests that target a minor. Texas law covers several of these.

Charges involving sexually explicit communication with a minor over the internet or by text are among the offenses this firm defends, and each case turns on its specific facts. It also applies when the person sends sexually explicit material to a minor, with a specific intent listed in the statute. A separate part covers knowingly soliciting a minor to meet, with intent that the minor engage in sexual contact or intercourse. It is not a defense that the meeting did not occur.

The grades differ. The communication offense is a third-degree felony, or a second-degree felony if the minor is younger than 14. The solicitation offense is a second-degree felony.

Texas law addresses possession, access with intent to view, and promotion of visual material that shows a child in sexual conduct. The grade depends on facts such as how many depictions are involved and the person’s prior history. The statute also covers computer-generated depictions in some cases. Suspected online child exploitation can be reported to the NCMEC CyberTipline, which refers tips to law enforcement for possible investigation.

What about public lewdness, indecent exposure, and educator offenses?

These are separate offenses. Each has its own elements, and each is defined in its own section.

Penal Code § 21.07 covers public lewdness. It applies when a person knowingly engages in sexual intercourse, deviate sexual intercourse, or sexual contact in a public place. It also applies elsewhere when the person is reckless about whether someone present will be offended or alarmed. The basic offense is a Class A misdemeanor.

Penal Code § 21.08 covers indecent exposure. It applies when a person exposes the anus or any part of the genitals with intent to arouse or gratify sexual desire, and is reckless about whether someone present will be offended. The basic offense is a Class B misdemeanor. It rises with prior convictions.

Penal Code § 21.12 covers an employee of a public or private primary or secondary school. It applies to sexual contact or intercourse with an enrolled person. The offense is a second-degree felony. The statute lists affirmative defenses, including one where the actor was the spouse of the enrolled person.

Does a sex crime charge mean sex offender registration?

Registration duties come from Texas law on sex offender registration, and they depend on the offense and the person’s history. An accusation is not the same as a conviction for registration purposes.

The definitions section of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure’s sex offender registration chapter defines a “sexually violent offense” as any of the offenses it lists when committed by a person 17 years of age or older. The registration statute’s definitions section defines “online identifier” as electronic mail address information or a name used by a person when sending or receiving an instant message, social networking communication, or similar Internet communication, or when participating in an Internet chat.

Those limits come from statute and from the conditions that apply to each person. Registration questions follow a reportable conviction or adjudication, which for most listed offenses includes deferred adjudication, and some juvenile adjudications also count. They depend on the offense list and the facts.

Why an accusation is not a conviction

A case can start with a report, a message reviewed by police, or an arrest. None of those is a conviction. The case then moves through steps. These include an investigation, a charging decision, court proceedings, and a trial or a plea. Each step has its own rules.

Timing also matters. Statutes of limitation set time limits for prosecution. The FBI bulletin on statutes of limitation in sexual assault cases explains the general purpose of these limits. Each charge has its own elements, and the facts decide whether those elements are met.

Talking with a Texas sex crimes lawyer about your situation

A confidential talk with a lawyer can help you sort out which offense the facts may involve. It can also help you see the next steps.

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