The crime of Sexual Assault (interchangeable with “Rape” in Texas law) is codified in Texas Penal Code 22.011.
Definition of Sexual Assault
Section 22.011(a) says a person has committed Sexual Assault if:
(1) the person intentionally or knowingly:
(A) causes the penetration of the anus or sexual organ of another person by any means, without that person’s consent;
(B) causes the penetration of the mouth of another person by the sexual organ of the actor, without that person’s consent; or
(C) causes the sexual organ of another person, without that person’s consent, to contact or penetrate the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, including the actor.
Aggravated Sexual Assault in Texas
- Sexual Assault Prison Time
- 2 – 20 years in Prison
- Aggravated Sexual Assault Prison Time
- 5 years – Life in Prison
Aggravating Factors – Examples
- use of deadly weapon in commission of the crime
- serious bodily injury caused
- attempt to cause the death of victim, or if the victim is placed in fear of death or serious bodily injury
- if the victim is elderly or disabled
- act of trafficking or kidnapping
- 2 or more people acting together in commission of the crime
- use of certain “date rape” drugs
Sexual Assault of a Child
- Child sexual assault (under age 17) becomes “aggravated” if the child is under the age of 14 years old
- if child under 6 years of age: aggravated sexual assault of a child & minimum of 25 years in prison
What is consent?
The critical aspect of a Texas Sexual Assault charge is “consent.”
Section 22.011(b)(1-11) describes situations in which a person has not given consent:
(1) the actor compels the other person to submit or participate by the use of physical force, violence, or coercion;
(2) the actor compels the other person to submit or participate by threatening to use force or violence against the other person, and the other person believes that the actor has the present ability to execute the threat;
(3) the other person has not consented and the actor knows the other person is unconscious or physically unable to resist;
(4) the actor knows that as a result of mental disease or defect the other person is at the time of the sexual assault incapable either of appraising the nature of the act or of resisting it;
(5) the other person has not consented and the actor knows the other person is unaware that the sexual assault is occurring;
(6) the actor has intentionally impaired the other person’s power to appraise or control the other person’s conduct by administering any substance without the other person’s knowledge;
(7) the actor compels the other person to submit or participate by threatening to use force or violence against any person, and the other person believes that the actor has the ability to execute the threat;
(8) the actor is a public servant who coerces the other person to submit or participate;
(9) the actor is a mental health services provider or a health care services provider who causes the other person, who is a patient or former patient of the actor, to submit or participate by exploiting the other person’s emotional dependency on the actor;
(10) the actor is a clergyman who causes the other person to submit or participate by exploiting the other person’s emotional dependency on the clergyman in the clergyman’s professional character as spiritual adviser; or
(11) the actor is an employee of a facility where the other person is a resident, unless the employee and resident are formally or informally married to each other under Chapter 2, Family Code.
Penalties – Felony or Misdemeanor?
2nd Degree Felony
Sexual Assault is typically a Second Degree felony, meaning 2-20 years in prison and $10,000 fine.
1st Degree Felony
The charge can also easily be enhanced to a First Degree felony.
Must I Register as a Sex Offender?
There are a variety of additional consequences, including registering as a sex offender.
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