Fort Worth Sex Crime Attorney

What Are the Different Types of Sex Crimes?

Sexual Assault

 

By law, sexual assault involves any sexual act with a minor under the age of 17 or any sexual act committed without the victim’s consent. For minors, lack of consent is automatically presumed due to the victim’s age. This is true for both minors and adults if violence or threats were used to force an individual into committing sexual acts. Another way that lack of consent is automatically presumed is when the victim is threatened, physically attacked, drugged, or incapacitated for any reason, and is a part of a sexual act.

 The charge can be elevated to aggravated sexual assault if the following is true:

• The perpetrator inflicted serious bodily injury on the victim.
• The perpetrator attempted to kill the victim.
• The perpetrator caused the victim to fear that serious bodily injury or death would occur to them due to threats made.
• A deadly weapon was used during the commission of the sexual act.
• The perpetrator exhibited or threatened to use a deadly weapon.
• Date rape drugs or other illicit substances were used during the commission of the sex crime.
• The perpetrator committed the act along with another person/persons.

For cases where the victim is a minor under the age of 14, the individual is mentally or physically disabled, or they are elderly, the criminal charge will most likely be elevated to aggravated sexual assault.

Child Sexual Abuse

The Texas Family Code defines child sexual abuse as the following:

• Any sexual conduct that is harmful to the child’s mental, emotional, or physical state, including but not limited to offenses of continuous sexual abuse of a young child, indecency with a child, child sexual assault, and aggravated child sexual assault.
• Failure to make a reasonable effort to prevent sexual conduct harmful to a child
• Encouraging, forcing, or permitting a child to engage in sexual conduct, including conduct such as trafficking of persons, prostitution, or compelling prostitution.
• Encouraging, forcing, or permitting a child to be allowed in photographs or films that are obscene or pornographic.
• Causing, permitting, encouraging, or engaging in a child being trafficked. This also includes failure to make a reasonable effort to prevent the child from being trafficked.

Continuous Sexual Abuse

Continuous sexual abuse, according to Texas sex offense laws, is when an individual over the age of 17 engages in two or more acts of sexual abuse outside of a 30-day period. For these cases, the jury does not have to unanimously agree on which type of sexual abuse was committed by the defendant or when these criminal acts occurred. They only have to prove that there were at least two sexual acts outside of a 30-day period. It is important to ensure that you have an experienced continuous sexual abuse defense attorney on your side, to ensure that the jury can look at you through unbiased eyes instead of assuming you are already guilty.

Several actions are considered child sexual abuse under Texas law. Because of the child’s age, they are unable to consent to any form of sexual activity. The following are common forms of child sexual abuse:

• Touching the child’s genitals or breasts
• Exposing oneself to a minor
• Forcing a minor to masturbate or masturbating in the presence of a child
• Allowing or forcing a minor to watch a sexual act
• Obscene phone calls, texts, or emails with a minor
• Exposing a minor to sexual videos, games, or images
• Intercourse or any form of sex
• All sexual conduct that threatens a child’s mental, physical, or emotional health.

Solicitation and Prostitution

Soliciting prostitution is considered a state jail felony in the state of Texas. If the accused individual has a prior conviction of soliciting prostitution, the individual could face a third-degree felony.  

Solicitation of a minor includes attempting to persuade, induce, entice, or coerce any person under the age of 18 to engage in sexual activities by using any facility or means of interstate or foreign commerce. In layman’s terms, this simply means the usage of a computer, a tablet, or a cellphone.

For an individual to be charged with the solicitation or prostitution of a minor, it has to be proven that the individual did the following beyond a reasonable doubt:

• They knowingly attempted to persuade, induce, entice, or coerce the minor to engage in any sexual activity.
• They used the internet, a cell phone, or another facility or paid to perform these acts.
• They believed the individual was less than 18 years of age.

If the sexual activity were to occur or did occur, the defendant could be charged with a criminal offense under the Texas state law or the laws of the state in which the communication occurred.

Indecency With a Child

If the individual exposed themself to a minor, (which is defined as a child who is 16 or younger), then that indecent exposure may be upgraded from a misdemeanor to a third-degree felony. A conviction for a third-degree felony may carry the following penalties:

• A jail sentence of up to 10 years
• A fine of up to $10,000

Stalking

The Texas Penal Code 42.072 states that it is illegal for an individual to engage in a pattern of repeated behavior that is directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear. If the individual makes threats, including injuring, killing, or threatening to injure a member of the victim’s family or household, or someone they are dating, the charge can be increased. If you are being charged with stalking, you will want to ensure you have a strong defense attorney on your side to ensure that your side is heard.

Public Lewdness

Public lewdness refers to engaging in sexual activity in public places. The law specifically claims the following as public lewdness:

• Sexual intercourse in public
• Deviate sexual intercourse
• Sexual conduct
• Any contact between a person’s mouth or genitals and the anus of an animal or fowl

While public lewdness may seem like it only refers to public places or areas where there is public access, including common areas of an apartment community, it also can include private areas. For instances of a private area, such as an individual’s own home, it needs to take place where another individual would be offended, such as by an open window or in plain sight of another person’s home or property.

Indecent Exposure

Indecent exposure refers to exposing oneself in public. This is generally considered a class B misdemeanor but the charges can be raised if the indecent exposure was directed toward a child.

What Are the Penalties for Sex Crimes in Texas?

Depending on the severity of the facts of the case, an individual being charged with a sex crime can be considered either a misdemeanor or a felony. If you have been convicted of a sex crime in the state of Texas, you could be facing the following penalties:

• Class C misdemeanor can lead to a fine of up to $500
• Class B misdemeanor can lead up to a fine of $2,000 and up to 180 days in jail
• Class A misdemeanor can lead up to 1 year in jail and up to $4,000 in fines
• State jail felony can result in 180-2 years in state jail and a fine up to $10,000
• Third-degree felony can result in 2-10 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines
• Second-degree felony can result in 2-20 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines
• First-degree felony can result in 5-99 years or life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000

The Sex Crime Defense Attorney That Will Stand for Your Rights

It is extremely stressful to find oneself accused of a sex crime. You or your loved one may be feeling defensive, embarrassed, ashamed, or even uncertain about their future. However, one of the worst things an individual can do is to try and navigate the legal system on their own. The attorneys at Gebhardt and Eppes, PLLC are dedicated to protecting the rights and voice of our clients, by fighting hard to ensure your side is told. We know that every individual, no matter the allegations against them, has a right to a fair trial. We work hard to create a defense that ensures that you cannot get bullied by the prosecution. Contact us today for more information on our services to schedule a complimentary consultation to go over the facts of your case.