Sugar Land Indecency with a Child Lawyer

Sugar Land Indecency with a Child Attorney

According to Texas sex offense law, the age for consent is set at 17 years old. A child under the age of 17 (16 years old or younger) cannot consent to any sexual acts with an adult, except under a few narrowly defined exceptions. This applies even if the accused did not know the age of the child at the time of the offense. The Texas Penal Code makes the following illegal:

(1) engages in sexual contact with the child or causes the child to engage in sexual contact; or

(2) with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person:

(A) exposes the person’s anus or any part of the person’s genitals, knowing the child is present; or

(B) causes the child to expose the child’s anus or any part of the child’s genitals.

Subsection (a)(1) describes Indecency by Contact type of charge, and subsection (a)(2) describes the Indecency by Exposure type of charge. There are two different affirmative defenses provided by the law even if the molestation is admitted. These are described in Penalties below.

Indecency with a Child Panalties

Indecency with a Child is punished as a second-degree felony if it is charged under subsection (a)(1) (the Indecency with a Child – Sexual Contact) and as a third-degree felony if it is charged under subsection (a)(2) (Indecency with a Child – Exposes).

OTHER CONSEQUENCES

Whether you are convicted, placed on community supervision, or deferred adjudication probation, you will be required to register as a sex offender if you plead guilty to Indecency with a Child. However, under Texas law, the amount of time that you will be required to register depends on several different factors.

Convictions under 21.11(a)(1) (Indecency – Contact) are generally worse than convictions under 21.11(a)(2) (Indecency – Exposure). Generally, Indecency – Contact convictions require mandatory lifetime registration, while Indecency – Exposure convictions require only 10-year registration under Texas law. The 10-year period of registration beings after the date of release from prison, the probation ends, or the case is dismissed.

The ten-year registration period for Indecency – Exposure convictions gets increased to lifetime registration “if before or after the person is convicted or adjudicated for the offense under Section 21.11(a)(2), Penal Code, the person receives or has received another reportable conviction or adjudication, other than an adjudication of delinquent conduct, for an offense or conduct that requires registration.”

Also, the age of the offender can come into play. If you were a juvenile, and your case had been transferred from juvenile court into a district court, the lifetime registration would be reduced to 10 years.

FAQ

Contact Our Indecency with a Child Lawyers

These are highly sensitive, fact-driven criminal cases with enormous stakes. They take tremendous skill, vast experience, dogged tenacity, and compassion.

The prosecutor needs to prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.