Tex. Penal Code § 20.02 · Chapter 20. KIDNAPPING, UNLAWFUL RESTRAINT, AND SMUGGLING OF PERSONS
UNLAWFUL RESTRAINT.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly restrains another person.
(b) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that:
(1) the person restrained was a child younger than 14 years of age;
(2) the actor was a relative of the child; and
(3) the actor's sole intent was to assume lawful control of the child.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is:
(1) a state jail felony if the person restrained was a child younger than 17 years of age;
(2) a felony of the third degree if:
(A) the actor recklessly exposes the victim to a substantial risk of serious bodily injury;
(B) the actor restrains an individual the actor knows is a public servant while the public servant is lawfully discharging an official duty or in retaliation or on account of an exercise of official power or performance of an official duty as a public servant; or
(C) the actor, while in custody or committed to a civil commitment facility, restrains any other person; or
(3) notwithstanding Subdivision (2)(B), a felony of the second degree if the actor restrains an individual the actor knows is a peace officer or judge while the officer or judge is lawfully discharging an official duty or in retaliation or on account of an exercise of official power or performance of an official duty as a peace officer or judge.
(d) It is no offense to detain or move another under this section when it is for the purpose of effecting a lawful arrest or detaining an individual lawfully arrested.
(e) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that:
(1) the person restrained was a child who is 14 years of age or older and younger than 17 years of age;
(2) the actor does not restrain the child by force, intimidation, or deception; and
(3) the actor is not more than three years older than the child.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 707, Sec. 1(b), 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 790, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 524, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
Amended by:
Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 440 (H.B. 2908), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2017.
Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 351 (S.B. 1179), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2023.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.20.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 6d8856e4cfdd5dbc0f8df30ca47a2ba3a95f88178ed7813e361df7b7c3a4d686
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
Cited by 6 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Tex. Penal Code § 20.02. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Code of Criminal Procedure
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 15.27NOTIFICATION TO SCHOOLS REQUIRED.Printed as Section 20.02, 21.08, 22.01, 22.05, 22.07, or 71.02, Penal Code
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 42.015FINDING OF AGE OF VICTIM.Printed as Section 20.02, 20.03, or 20.04, Penal Code
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 42A.105AFFIRMATIVE FINDINGS.Printed as Section 20.02, 20.03, or 20.04, Penal Code
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 58.051DEFINITIONS.Printed as Sections 20.02, 20.03, 20.04, 25.03, and 25.031, Penal Code
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 62.101EXPIRATION OF DUTY TO REGISTER.Printed as Section 20.02, 20.03, or 20.04, Penal Code
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.