Tex. Penal Code § 20.03 · Chapter 20. KIDNAPPING, UNLAWFUL RESTRAINT, AND SMUGGLING OF PERSONS
KIDNAPPING.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly abducts another person.
(b) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that:
(1) the abduction was not coupled with intent to use or to threaten to use deadly force;
(2) the actor was a relative of the person abducted; and
(3) the actor's sole intent was to assume lawful control of the victim.
(c) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree.
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.
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 e3023fa46ee5eda75c3c67e010f7b16cb67d25c213e72a7fcf49c96783219739
- 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 11 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Tex. Penal Code § 20.03. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Code of Criminal Procedure
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 12.01FELONIES.Printed as Section 20.03, 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. 42A.702TIME CREDITS FOR COMPLETION OF CERTAIN CONDITIONS OF COMMUNITY SUPERVISION.Printed as Section 20.03 or 28.02, 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
Education Code
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