Distinctions must be made between persons who are guilty of actual sex crimes and innocent persons who are perceived as being guilty, perhaps due to false accusations based on misunderstandings, attention-getting, revenge, leverage in divorce proceedings, and other factors that prompt false allegations.

How Texas law defines a “minor”

The sobering fact is that, in Texas, sex crimes with minors are the most serious. Public outrage is extreme in such cases, and Texas sex crime laws and punishments reflect this.

The most serious such offense would be sexual assault of a child or a minor.

In Texas, a minor is anyone who is under 18 years of age. However, in Texas, the legal age of consent for sexual relations is 17. So, if an adult has sexual relations with someone 17 years old and those relations were consensual (and not an assault), then consent would be a legal defense against a claim of sexual assault.

As for statutory rape of a minor, that refers to an adult having sexual relations with a child who is under 17 years of age—and therefore under the legal age of consent. Section 21.011 of the Texas Penal Code holds that statutory rape is a sexual assault between an adult and a victim under 17 who is not their spouse.

Other sex crimes against minors

In addition to the offenses of sexual assault and statutory rape of a minor, other sex crimes against minors can include aggravated sexual assault of a child, child molestation and indecency with a child.

Aggravated sexual assault of a child occurs when a person knowingly, recklessly or intentionally threatens harm or causes harm to a child via a sexual attack without consent. Such assaults are deemed aggravated based on several aggravating factors. These include:

Child molestation involves sexual or inappropriate contact between an adult and a child.

Indecency with a child involves either sexual contact or exposure with no contact.

Texas penalties for sex charges involving a child or minor

The penalties in Texas for sex charges involving a child or minor can be extremely harsh.

Let’s take a look:

• Sexual assault or statutory rape of a child is a second-degree felony with punishments upon conviction of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Also, there is no statute of limitations for this crime, meaning you could be charged and convicted many years after the alleged crime.
• Aggravated sexual assault of a child is a first-degree felony with punishments of up to life in prison. If the child was 14 or younger at the time of the assault, the penalty is up to 99 years in prison with no chance of parole until at least half of the sentence has been served.
• Indecency with a child by exposure is a third-degree felony with punishments of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
• Indecency with a child by contact, which does not involve penetration, is a second-degree felony with punishments of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
• Continuous sexual abuse of a child is a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

These are some (but not all) examples of possible punishments in Texas when a sex charge involves a child or a minor.

Why do people make false claims of child sex abuse?

While somewhat rare, in America, people are falsely accused of sex crimes against children. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, as many as 8% of child sex abuse claims are false.

Sometimes, that is due to a spouse or former spouse using such a claim against a person in a child custody proceeding. It might also involve a spurned lover seeking vengeance or a simple case of mistaken identity.

Whatever the reason for a false sex abuse allegation, a person facing such accusations must seek a skilled, knowledgeable and experienced sex crime defense lawyer as soon as possible. That way, perhaps a charge can be avoided, dismissed or reduced prior to trial—or a defense against a charge of sexual assault of a child can be prepared if it’s necessary to go to trial.

Defenses against sex charges involving a child

A strong defense is needed in Texas due to the state’s severe laws against sex crimes involving children and also because of the rush to judgment in today’s society. Time after time, instant widespread news of a charge, including showing an accused person’s mugshot, leads many people to conclude that someone is guilty before they’ve had a chance to defend themselves.

Defenses against sex charges involving children can include citing a Texas statute known commonly as a Romeo and Juliet law. This law holds that if the older sex partner was no more than 3 years older than a younger partner (who was under 17 but older than 14), there was no crime. This particularly protects youths who engage in consensual sex from being charged with a sex crime.

Another defense against a sex crime against a child can involve finding and asserting evidence that weighs against the allegation. Yet another defense can involve establishing that a child lied about sexual contact, molestation or assault. Indeed, it’s a myth that children never lie about molestation.

Whatever your individual case, you need a sex crime defense lawyer with sufficient experience to fight for your legal rights and achieve the best possible result for you.

Get help from an experienced sex crime defense attorney

The Houston sex crime defense lawyers at the Neal Davis Law Firm have years of experience handling the most challenging sex crime cases. Often, we’ve been able to get charges reduced or even dismissed for our clients before a case goes to trial.

Don’t leave your future up to chance. Contact us today for a confidential consultation of your case.