An Online Sex Crime Arrest Can Follow You. Know What Your Record May Show.

Quick Answer: Does an Online Sex Crime Arrest Appear on a Background Check?

Often, yes. An arrest for an online sex crime can show on a Texas background check even if the case is later dismissed. The record shows that an arrest happened, and it also shows how the case ended.

Whether a particular employer, landlord or board sees it depends on the type of check it runs. It also depends on what the record shows.

It may be found through a criminal-history check (Texas DPS Crime Records Services FAQs). Many websites say arrests without convictions never appear. Don’t rely on that claim.

Think of a Texas record in three layers:

• Arrest entry: the booking and arrest information.
• Disposition: how the case ended, such as a dismissal, a no-bill (a grand jury’s decision not to indict) or a discharge.
• Conviction or deferred adjudication: the court’s result, if the case reached one.

Each layer changes the answer. For the broader picture of these charges, see our online sex crimes defense guide.

Who Keeps Texas Criminal Records and Who Can Look Them Up

The Department of Public Safety (DPS) runs the state’s crime records services, so it is a central source for these records.

Different background check products search different sources. One product may pull jail and arrest data. Another may pull only conviction data. The same person can show different results depending on which product runs the search.

Three search types are common. An arrest search looks for arrest and booking entries. A conviction search looks for convictions. A comprehensive search covers everything the provider can find.

Each search answers a different question. A result that looks clean on one search does not settle what another source holds. Knowing which search was run helps you read the result correctly.

Will an Arrest Still Show if the Charge Is Dismissed or No-Billed?

An arrest may still show after a dismissal or a no-bill. The arrest happened, and the disposition is recorded separately. The record can show both the arrest and the dismissal.

Expunction is a different step. Under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55A.053(a), a person is entitled to expunction of arrest records when an indictment or information was dismissed or quashed for a listed reason. Those reasons include completing a pretrial intervention program. They also include a presentment made by mistake or without probable cause (Chapter 55A expunction statute).

A dismissal alone does not clear the record. A person who is entitled to expunction or eligible for expunction under the listed articles may, subject to Art. 55A.252, file an ex parte petition for expunction in a district court for the county where the petitioner was arrested or where the offense was alleged to have occurred, as Art. 55A.251 provides (Chapter 55A petition rules).

Someone who was never convicted may still see the arrest entry. That is why the disposition entry matters. It tells a reader how the case ended.

Treat an arrest with a dismissal as a different record from an arrest with a conviction. Check the difference on the actual record, not on a guess.

Deferred Adjudication: What Shows on the Record

Deferred adjudication is a court disposition. The judge defers further proceedings without entering an adjudication of guilt. The judge may place the defendant on deferred adjudication community supervision, deferring further proceedings without entering an adjudication of guilt.

If the defendant completes deferred adjudication community supervision imposed under this subchapter without an adjudication of guilt, the judge shall dismiss the case and discharge the defendant (Art. 42A.111(a)). Under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 42A.111(b), a judge may dismiss the proceedings and discharge a defendant before the deferred adjudication community supervision period expires if the judge concludes that doing so serves society and the defendant. That discretion does not extend to a defendant charged with an offense that requires registration as a sex offender under Chapter 62. A dismissal and discharge may not be considered a conviction for purposes of disqualifications or disabilities imposed by law for conviction of an offense, except as provided by Section 12.42(g), Penal Code (Art. 42A.111(c)).

The case can still be visible.

Sex offense rules are stricter. Chapter 62 defines a reportable conviction or adjudication to include deferred adjudication for listed offenses (Chapter 62 definitions). Whether registration applies depends on the offense and the facts.

Expunction and Nondisclosure: Eligibility Depends on the Charge and the Outcome

Not every online sex crime case qualifies for expunction or nondisclosure. Eligibility depends on the charge, the disposition and the conditions in each statute.

Nondisclosure is a separate path. A person may not receive a nondisclosure order for an offense requiring registration under Chapter 62, or if previously convicted of, or placed on deferred adjudication for, such an offense (§ 411.074 nondisclosure conditions). Texas Government Code § 411.074 reads: “only if, during the period after the court pronounced the sentence or placed the person on community supervision, including deferred adjudication community supervision, for the offense for which the order of nondisclosure is requested, and during any applicable waiting period for the person under this subchapter following completion of the person’s sentence or community supervision, including deferred adjudication community supervision, the person is not convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication community supervision for any offense other than a traffic offense that is punishable by fine only.” The same section bars nondisclosure for other offenses involving family violence.

For a felony deferred adjudication, a petition may be filed only on or after the fifth anniversary of the discharge and dismissal (§ 411.0725(e)(3)).

Expunction and nondisclosure work differently on the record. Once an expunction order issued under Subchapter E or F is final, release, maintenance, dissemination or use of the expunged records for any purpose is prohibited (Art. 55A.401). A person questioned under oath in a criminal proceeding about an expunged arrest may state only that the matter has been expunged (Art. 55A.401).

A petitioner who is entitled or eligible for expunction under the listed articles may, subject to Art. 55A.252, file an ex parte petition in the district court for the county where the petitioner was arrested or where the offense was alleged to have occurred (Art. 55A.251), unless the arrest is for an offense punishable by fine only, in which case the petition is filed in a justice or municipal court of record in that county (Art. 55A.252).

What Employers, Landlords and Licensing Boards See

Employers, landlords and licensing boards may run different checks. They may also read the same record differently. The rules on what each one may consider depend on the setting.

Texas law gives some protection. A person whose record is subject to a nondisclosure order is not required to say, on an application for employment, information or licensing, that they were subject to the proceeding (§ 411.0755).

Licensing agencies have more room. Under Art. 42A.111(d)(4), a licensing agency may consider prior deferred adjudication in listed circumstances. Under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 42A.111, if the defendant is an applicant for or the holder of a professional or occupational license or certificate, the licensing agency may consider a prior deferred adjudication community supervision when issuing, renewing, denying, or revoking that license or certificate if the offense is listed in Article 42A.054(a), is described by Article 62.001(5) or (6), is committed under Chapter 21 or 43, Penal Code, or is related to the activity or conduct for which the person seeks or holds the license, or if the profession involves direct contact with children in the normal course of official duties or duties for which the license or certification is required, or if the defendant is an applicant for or the holder of a license or certificate issued under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code.

A reader in a licensed profession should find out which board reviews the record. Each board applies its own rules.

How the Charge’s Mental-State Element Shapes What the Record Means

Online sex crime charges turn on conduct plus a mental state. The mental state is part of what the state must prove.

Take online solicitation of a minor under Texas Penal Code Chapter 33. A minor is someone younger than 17, or someone the actor believes is younger than 17. Subsection (c) makes it an offense to knowingly solicit a minor, over the internet, to meet another person. The intent must be that the minor will engage in sexual contact, sexual intercourse or deviate sexual intercourse.

The statute says that it is not a defense that the meeting did not occur. Subsection (c) is a second-degree felony. The statute also lists a defense where the actor was married to the minor. It also applies where the actor 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.”

How those facts apply depends on the evidence in each case. For more on how intent is proven, see our intent guide for Texas online sex crimes.

Reviewing Your Record and Your Case With Barbieri Law Firm

If an arrest or a deferred case on an online sex crime charge is weighing on you, the key question is often what a background check will show next. That answer depends on the charge, the disposition and the check being run.

Our firm reviews the charging papers, the disposition and the record together. We explain which expunction or nondisclosure rules may apply to your facts, and we explain your options in plain language.

Our free initial consultation is confidential and carries no obligation to continue. Call (972) 424-1902 or send us your case details.

Frequently asked questions