Texas Definitions
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Definitions
§ 20.04. Aggravated Kidnapping
(a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly abducts another person with the intent to:
(1) hold him for ransom or reward;
(2) use him as a shield or hostage;
(3) facilitate the commission of a felony or the flight after the
attempt or commission of a felony;
(4) inflict bodily injury on him or violate or abuse him sexually;
(5) terrorize him or a third person; or
(6) interfere with the performance of any governmental or political
function.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally or knowingly abducts another person and uses or exhibits a deadly weapon during the commission of the offense.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), an offense under this section is a felony of the first degree.
(d) At the punishment stage of a trial, the defendant may raise the issue as to whether he voluntarily released the victim in a safe place. If the defendant proves the issue in the affirmative by a preponderance of the evidence, the offense is a felony of the second degree.
Art. 20.02. [374] [425] [413] Proceedings secret
(a) The proceedings of the grand jury shall be secret.
(b) A grand juror, bailiff, interpreter, stenographer or person operating an electronic recording device, or person preparing a typewritten transcription of a stenographic or electronic recording who discloses anything transpiring before the grand jury, regardless of whether the thing transpiring is recorded, in the course of the official duties of the grand jury shall be liable to a fine as for contempt of the court, not exceeding five hundred dollars, imprisonment not exceeding thirty days, or both such fine and imprisonment.
(c) A disclosure of a record made under Article 20.012, a disclosure of a typewritten transcription of that record, or a disclosure otherwise prohibited by Subsection (b) or Article 20.16 may be made by the attorney representing the state in performing the attorney's duties to a grand juror serving on the grand jury before whom the record was made, another grand jury, a law enforcement agency, or a prosecuting attorney, as permitted by the attorney representing the state and determined by the attorney as necessary to assist the attorney in the performance of the attorney's duties. The attorney representing the state shall warn any person the attorney authorizes to receive information under this subsection of the person's duty to maintain the secrecy of the information. Any person who receives information under this subsection and discloses the information for purposes other than those permitted by this subsection is subject to punishment for contempt in the same manner as persons who violate Subsection (b).
(d) The defendant may petition a court to order the disclosure of information otherwise made secret by this article or the disclosure of a recording or typewritten transcription under Article 20.012 as a matter preliminary to or in connection with a judicial proceeding. The court may order disclosure of the information, recording, or transcription on a showing by the defendant of a particularized need.
(e) A petition for disclosure under Subsection (d) must be filed in the district court in which the case is pending. The defendant must also file a copy of the petition with the attorney representing the state, the parties to the judicial proceeding, and any other persons required by the court to receive a copy of the petition. All persons receiving a petition under this subsection are entitled to appear before the court. The court shall provide interested parties with an opportunity to appear and present arguments for the continuation of or end to the requirement of secrecy.
(f) A person who receives information under Subsection (d) or (e) and discloses that information is subject to punishment for contempt in the same manner as a person who violates Subsection (b).
(g) The attorney representing the state may not disclose anything transpiring before the grand jury except as permitted by Subsections (c), (d), and (e).
§ 21.08. Indecent Exposure
(a) A person commits an offense if he exposes his anus or any part of his genitals with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person, and he is reckless about whether another is present who will be offended or alarmed by his act.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
§ 21.11. Indecency With a Child
(a) A person commits an offense if, with a child younger than 17 years and not the person's spouse, whether the child is of the same or opposite sex, the person:
(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.
(b) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the actor:
(1) was not more than three years older than the victim and of the
opposite sex;
(2) did not use duress, force, or a threat against the victim at the
time of the offense; and
(3) at the time of the offense:
(A) was not required under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, to
register for life as a sex offender; or
(B) was not a person who under Chapter 62 had a reportable conviction
or adjudication for an offense under this section.
(c) In this section, "sexual contact" means the following acts, if committed with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person:
(1) any touching by a person, including touching through clothing, of
the anus, breast, or any part of the genitals of a child; or
(2) any touching of any part of the body of a child, including touching
through clothing, with the anus, breast, or any part of the genitals of
a person.
(d) An offense under Subsection (a)(1) is a felony of the second degree and an offense under Subsection (a)(2) is a felony of the third degree.
§ 22.011. Sexual Assault
(a) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) 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; or
(2) intentionally or knowingly:
(A) causes the penetration of the anus or sexual organ of a child by
any means;
(B) causes the penetration of the mouth of a child by the sexual
organ of the actor;
(C) causes the sexual organ of a child to contact or penetrate the
mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, including the actor;
(D) causes the anus of a child to contact the mouth, anus, or sexual
organ of another person, including the actor; or
(E) causes the mouth of a child to contact the anus or sexual organ
of another person, including the actor.
(b) A sexual assault under Subsection (a)(1) is without the consent of the other person if:
(1) the actor compels the other person to submit or participate by the
use of physical force or violence;
(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.
(c) In this section:
(1) "Child" means a person younger than 17 years of age who is not the
spouse of the actor.
(2) "Spouse" means a person who is legally married to another.
(3) "Health care services provider" means:
(A) a physician licensed under Subtitle B, Title 3, Occupations Code;
(B) a chiropractor licensed under Chapter 201, Occupations Code;
(C) a physical therapist licensed under Chapter 453, Occupations
Code;
(D) a physician assistant licensed under Chapter 204, Occupations
Code; or
(E) a registered nurse, a vocational nurse, or an advanced practice
nurse licensed under Chapter 301, Occupations Code.
(4) "Mental health services provider" means an individual, licensed or
unlicensed, who performs or purports to perform mental health services,
including a:
(A) licensed social worker as defined by Section 505.002, Occupations
Code;
(B) chemical dependency counselor as defined by Section 504.001,
Occupations Code;
(C) licensed professional counselor as defined by Section 503.002,
Occupations Code;
(D) licensed marriage and family therapist as defined by Section
502.002, Occupations Code;
(E) member of the clergy;
(F) psychologist offering psychological services as defined by
Section 501.003, Occupations Code; or
(G) special officer for mental health assignment certified under
Section 1701.404, Occupations Code.
(5) "Employee of a facility" means a person who is an employee of a
facility defined by Section 250.001, Health and Safety Code, or any
other person who provides services for a facility for compensation,
including a contract laborer.
(d) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(2) that the conduct consisted of medical care for the child and did not include any contact between the anus or sexual organ of the child and the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of the actor or a third party.
(e) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(2) that:
(1) the actor was not more than three years older than the victim and
at the time of the offense:
(A) was not required under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, to
register for life as a sex offender; or
(B) was not a person who under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal
Procedure, had a reportable conviction or adjudication for an offense
under this section; and
(2) the victim:
(A) was a child of 14 years of age or older; and
(B) was not a person whom the actor was prohibited from marrying or
purporting to marry or with whom the actor was prohibited from living
under the appearance of being married under Section 25.01.
(f) An offense under this section is a felony of the second degree, except that an offense under this section is a felony of the first degree if the victim was a person whom the actor was prohibited from marrying or purporting to marry or with whom the actor was prohibited from living under the appearance of being married under Section 25.01.
§ 25.02. Prohibited Sexual Conduct
(a) A person commits an offense if the person engages in sexual intercourse or deviate sexual intercourse with another person the actor knows to be, without regard to legitimacy:
(1) the actor's ancestor or descendant by blood or adoption;
(2) the actor's current or former stepchild or stepparent;
(3) the actor's parent's brother or sister of the whole or half blood;
(4) the actor's brother or sister of the whole or half blood or by
adoption;
(5) the children of the actor's brother or sister of the whole or half
blood or by adoption; or
(6) the son or daughter of the actor's aunt or uncle of the whole or
half blood or by adoption.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Deviate sexual intercourse" means any contact between the genitals
of one person and the mouth or anus of another person with intent to
arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person.
(2) "Sexual intercourse" means any penetration of the female sex organ
by the male sex organ.
(c) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree, unless the offense is committed under Subsection (a)(6), in which event the offense is a felony of the second degree.
§ 30.02. Burglary
(a) A person commits an offense if, without the effective consent of the owner, the person:
(1) enters a habitation, or a building (or any portion of a building)
not then open to the public, with intent to commit a felony, theft, or
an assault; or
(2) remains concealed, with intent to commit a felony, theft, or an
assault, in a building or habitation; or
§ 43.05. Compelling Prostitution
(a) A person commits an offense if he knowingly:
(1) causes another by force, threat, or fraud to commit prostitution;
or
(2) causes by any means a person younger than 17 years to commit
prostitution.
(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the second degree.
§ 43.25. Sexual Performance by a Child
(a) In this section:
(1) "Sexual performance" means any performance or part thereof that
includes sexual conduct by a child younger than 18 years of age.
(2) "Sexual conduct" means sexual contact, actual or simulated sexual
intercourse, deviate sexual intercourse, sexual bestiality,
masturbation, sado-masochistic abuse, or lewd exhibition of the
genitals, the anus, or any portion of the female breast below the top
of the areola.
(3) "Performance" means any play, motion picture, photograph, dance, or
other visual representation that can be exhibited before an audience of
one or more persons.
(4) "Produce" with respect to a sexual performance includes any conduct
that directly contributes to the creation or manufacture of the sexual
performance.
(5) "Promote" means to procure, manufacture, issue, sell, give,
provide, lend, mail, deliver, transfer, transmit, publish, distribute,
circulate, disseminate, present, exhibit, or advertise or to offer or
agree to do any of the above.
(6) "Simulated" means the explicit depiction of sexual conduct that
creates the appearance of actual sexual conduct and during which a
person engaging in the conduct exhibits any uncovered portion of the
breasts, genitals, or buttocks.
(7) "Deviate sexual intercourse" and "sexual contact" have the meanings
assigned by Section 43.01.
(b) A person commits an offense if, knowing the character and content thereof, he employs, authorizes, or induces a child younger than 18 years of age to engage in sexual conduct or a sexual performance. A parent or legal guardian or custodian of a child younger than 18 years of age commits an offense if he consents to the participation by the child in a sexual performance.
(c) An offense under Subsection (b) is a felony of the second degree.
(d) A person commits an offense if, knowing the character and content of the material, he produces, directs, or promotes a performance that includes sexual conduct by a child younger than 18 years of age.
(e) An offense under Subsection (d) is a felony of the third degree.
(f) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution under this section that:
(1) the defendant was the spouse of the child at the time of the
offense;
(2) the conduct was for a bona fide educational, medical,
psychological, psychiatric, judicial, law enforcement, or legislative
purpose; or
(3) the defendant is not more than two years older than the child.
(g) When it becomes necessary for the purposes of this section or Section 43.26 to determine whether a child who participated in sexual conduct was younger than 18 years of age, the court or jury may make this determination by any of the following methods:
(1) personal inspection of the child;
(2) inspection of the photograph or motion picture that shows the child
engaging in the sexual performance;
(3) oral testimony by a witness to the sexual performance as to the age
of the child based on the child's appearance at the time;
(4) expert medical testimony based on the appearance of the child
engaging in the sexual performance; or
(5) any other method authorized by law or by the rules of evidence at
common law.
§ 43.26. Possession or Promotion of Child Pornography
(a) A person commits an offense if:
(1) the person knowingly or intentionally possesses visual material
that visually depicts a child younger than 18 years of age at the time
the image of the child was made who is engaging in sexual conduct; and
(2) the person knows that the material depicts the child as described
by Subdivision (1).
(b) In this section:
(1) "Promote" has the meaning assigned by Section 43.25.
(2) "Sexual conduct" has the meaning assigned by Section 43.25.
(3) "Visual material" means:
(A) any film, photograph, videotape, negative, or slide or any
photographic reproduction that contains or incorporates in any manner
any film, photograph, videotape, negative, or slide; or
(B) any disk, diskette, or other physical medium that allows an image
to be displayed on a computer or other video screen and any image
transmitted to a computer or other video screen by telephone line,
cable, satellite transmission, or other method.
(c) The affirmative defenses provided by Section 43.25(f) also apply to a prosecution under this section.
(d) An offense under Subsection (a) is a felony of the third degree.
(e) A person commits an offense if:
(1) the person knowingly or intentionally promotes or possesses with
intent to promote material described by Subsection (a)(1); and
(2) the person knows that the material depicts the child as described
by Subsection (a)(1).
(f) A person who possesses visual material that contains six or more identical visual depictions of a child as described by Subsection (a)(1) is presumed to possess the material with the intent to promote the material.
(g) An offense under Subsection (e) is a felony of the second degree.