Charged with Child Sex Crimes in Texas?
Getting arrested and charged with a child sex crime in Texas can be a nightmare for you and others who are affected by it. The consequences of getting convicted are incredibly harsh: you could be locked behind bars for life, your career could be ruined, you could become a registered sex offender, and your family and friends might disassociate themselves from you. This is why it is so important to take allegations of a child sex crime seriously and to hire an experienced Texas criminal defense attorney who will be in your corner when you need it the most. Here’s a basic overview of child sex crimes in Texas and what you can do if you ever have a run-in with the law.
Sexual Assault Of A Child
It is illegal in Texas to commit sexual assault of a child, which means: penetration of a child’s anus or sexual organ by any means; penetration of a child’s mouth by your sexual organ; penetration of your mouth by a child’s sexual organ or anus; or causing a child’s mouth or anus to contact your or another person’s sexual organ or anus.
Notably, Texas’ sexual assault law considers a child to be under the age of 17. The prosecutor does not need to show that you know the age of the child. There is also no requirement that you personally make contact with the child since sexual assault can include causing another person to commit the act.
However, the prosecutor must at least show that you know about committing the act or intend to commit it. What if you penetrate the child’s anus or otherwise touch the child’s genitals inadvertently upon picking the child up? You might not know or mean to commit the act.
Also, even if you commit an act which might be deemed sexual assault, you have a defense to prosecution in the following situations:
• You are the spouse of the child
• You are no more than three years older than the child and at the time of the offense, you are not required to register as a sex offender for life or otherwise required to report a past conviction or adjudication for sexual assault or another sex crime
• The child is 14 or older and someone who you are not precluded from marrying or having sex with
• You are administering medical care on the child and this medical care does not consist of making contact between the anus or sexual organ of the child and your or another person’s mouth, anus or sexual organ.
In Texas, sexual assault is normally construed as a second-degree felony. This means that you could face a $10,000 fine and a jail sentence of 2-20 years. However, if you are legally precluded from marrying the child or having sex with the child, it could be construed as a first-degree felony, which if convicted could result in a $10,000 fine and a 5-99 year jail sentence.
Also, if the child is under the age of 14, then you are looking at aggravated sexual assault – a first-degree felony. In fact, there are two situations in which a 25-year minimum imprisonment term is assessed. The first is where the child is under the age of six when the offense takes place. The second is where the child is under the age of 14 and the offense is committed by you hurting the child, trying to kill the child, threatening to hurt the child or another person, using a deadly weapon, joining in with others to commit the act, or impairing the child to prevent his or her resistance.
Prohibited Sexual Conduct
Some forms of sexual conduct are illegal in Texas depending on who is involved. Namely, prohibited sexual conduct mainly applies to family members and includes incidents of sexual intercourse, meaning a male sex organ penetrating a female sex organ, or deviate sexual intercourse, where there is contact made between your genitals and the anus or mouth of another person.

The law applies regardless of whether or not family members are half-blood or whole blood, and regardless of whether they are biological or adopted family members. However, a prosecutor must show that you know the relationship between you and the other person at the time of the act.
Notably, committing this act against your parents or children constitutes a second-degree felony punishable by a $10,000 fine and a 2-20 year jail sentence.
Online Solicitation Of A Minor
If you have ever seen How To Catch A Predator, then you might know a thing or two about online solicitation of a minor – which is unlawful in Texas. This means using your computer or phone to communicate with a minor in a sexually explicit fashion or by sending or texting explicit materials to a minor. It could also mean using the internet or some electronic communication device to solicit a minor to meet you or someone else so that the minor engages in a sexual act, sexual intercourse or deviate sexual intercourse with you or someone else.

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