Tex. Penal Code § 20A.03 · Chapter 20A. TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS
CONTINUOUS TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) A person commits an offense if, during a period that is 30 or more days in duration, the person engages two or more times in conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 20A.02 against one or more victims.
(b) If a jury is the trier of fact, members of the jury are not required to agree unanimously on which specific conduct engaged in by the defendant constituted an offense under Section 20A.02 or on which exact date the defendant engaged in that conduct. The jury must agree unanimously that the defendant, during a period that is 30 or more days in duration, engaged in conduct that constituted an offense under Section 20A.02.
(c) If the victim of an offense under Subsection (a) is the same victim as a victim of an offense under Section 20A.02, a defendant may not be convicted of the offense under Section 20A.02 in the same criminal action as the offense under Subsection (a), unless the offense under Section 20A.02:
(1) is charged in the alternative;
(2) occurred outside the period in which the offense alleged under Subsection (a) was committed; or
(3) is considered by the trier of fact to be a lesser included offense of the offense alleged under Subsection (a).
(d) A defendant may not be charged with more than one count under Subsection (a) if all of the conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 20A.02 is alleged to have been committed against the same victim.
(e) An offense under this section is a felony of the first degree, punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life or for any term of not more than 99 years or less than 25 years.
(f) This subsection applies only to a prosecution for an offense under this section based on conduct constituting an offense under Section 20A.02(a)(7) or (8), in which the actor is alleged to have caused for one or more times a trafficked child or disabled individual to engage in or become the victim of prostitution as defined by Section 43.01. It is not a defense to a prosecution described by this subsection that the trafficked child or disabled individual:
(1) lacks the culpable mental state to engage in the act of prostitution; or
(2) did not complete the act of prostitution.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 122 (H.B. 3000), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2011.
Amended by:
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 332 (H.B. 10), Sec. 12, eff. September 1, 2015.
Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 602 (H.B. 2761), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2025.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.20A.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 a005b4d8f7a9d692df9c6d99e1a47d4754f12663df5445144efd9a5978192e7e
- 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
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Cited by 32 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Tex. Penal Code § 20A.03. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Code of Criminal Procedure
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 7B.001APPLICATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER.Printed as Section 20A.02, 20A.03, 21.02, 21.11, 22.011, 22.012, 22.021, 42.072, or 43.05, Penal Code
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 12.01FELONIES.Printed as Section 20A.03, Penal Code
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 17.081ADDITIONAL REQUISITES OF BAIL BOND GIVEN BY CERTAIN DEFENDANTS.Printed as Section 20A.02, 20A.03, 43.02, 43.03, 43.031, 43.032, 43.04, 43.041, or 43.05, Penal Code
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 17.292MAGISTRATE'S ORDER FOR EMERGENCY PROTECTION.Printed as Section 20A.02, 20A.03, 22.011, 22.012, 22.021, or 42.072, Penal Code
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 17.465CONDITIONS FOR DEFENDANT CHARGED WITH CERTAIN TRAFFICKING OR PROSTITUTION RELATED OFFENSES INVOLVING ADULT VICTIMS.Printed as Section 20A.02, 20A.03, 43.03, 43.031, 43.032, 43.04, 43.041, or 43.05, Penal Code
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 42A.054LIMITATION ON JUDGE-ORDERED COMMUNITY SUPERVISION.Printed as Section 20A.02, 20A.03, 43.03, 43.032, 43.04, or 43.05, Penal Code | Section 20A.03, Penal Code
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 42A.056LIMITATION ON JURY-RECOMMENDED COMMUNITY SUPERVISION.Printed as Section 20A.02, 20A.03, 43.04, 43.05, or 43.25, Penal Code
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 42A.102ELIGIBILITY FOR DEFERRED ADJUDICATION COMMUNITY SUPERVISION.Printed as Section 20A.02, 20A.03, 49.045, 49.05, 49.061, 49.065, 49.07, or 49.08, Penal Code
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 56A.052ADDITIONAL RIGHTS OF VICTIMS OF CERTAIN SEXUAL, TRAFFICKING, OR BURGLARY OFFENSES.Printed as Section 20A.02, 20A.03, or 43.05, Penal Code
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 56B.003DEFINITIONS.Printed as Section 20A.02, 20A.03, 43.03, 43.031, 43.032, 43.04, 43.041, 43.05, 43.25, 43.251, or 43.26, Penal Code
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 58.051DEFINITIONS.Printed as Section 20A.02, 20A.03, 43.03, 43.031, 43.032, 43.04, 43.041, 43.05, 43.25, 43.251, or 43.26, Penal Code
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 62.051REGISTRATION: GENERAL.Printed as Section 20A.03, Penal Code
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 62.101EXPIRATION OF DUTY TO REGISTER.Printed as Section 20A.03, Penal Code
Family Code
- Tex. Fam. Code § 262.011PLACEMENT IN SECURE AGENCY FOSTER HOME.Printed as Section 20A.02 or 20A.03, Penal Code
- Tex. Fam. Code § 262.104TAKING POSSESSION OF A CHILD IN EMERGENCY WITHOUT A COURT ORDER.Printed as Section 20A.02 or 20A.03, Penal Code
- Tex. Fam. Code § 262.105FILING PETITION AFTER TAKING POSSESSION OF CHILD IN EMERGENCY.Printed as Section 20A.02 or 20A.03, Penal Code
- Tex. Fam. Code § 262.107STANDARD FOR DECISION AT INITIAL HEARING AFTER TAKING POSSESSION OF CHILD WITHOUT A COURT ORDER IN EMERGENCY.Printed as Section 20A.02 or 20A.03, Penal Code
- Tex. Fam. Code § 262.201FULL ADVERSARY HEARING; FINDINGS OF THE COURT.Printed as Section 20A.02 or 20A.03, Penal Code
Government Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 21.014ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION OF COURT PROCEEDINGS IN CERTAIN CASES PROHIBITED.Printed as Section 20A.03, Penal Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 23.101PRIMARY PRIORITIES.Printed as Section 20A.02(a)(7), 20A.02(a)(8), or 20A.03, Penal Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 71.0353TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS INFORMATION.Printed as Section 20A.02 or 20A.03, Penal Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 301.0221USE OF PSEUDONYM BY VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING.Printed as Section 20A.02 or 20A.03, Penal Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 411.0728PROCEDURE FOR CERTAIN VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS OR COMPELLING PROSTITUTION.Printed as Section 20A.02, 20A.03, or 43.05, Penal Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 411.074REQUIRED CONDITIONS FOR RECEIVING AN ORDER OF NONDISCLOSURE.Printed as Section 19.02, 19.03, 20A.02, 20A.03, 22.04, 22.041, 25.07, 25.072, or 42.072, Penal Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 508.046EXTRAORDINARY VOTE REQUIRED.Printed as Section 20A.03, 21.02, 21.11(a)(1), or 22.021, Penal Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 508.149INMATES INELIGIBLE FOR MANDATORY SUPERVISION.Printed as Section 20A.03, Penal Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 552.1315EXCEPTION: CONFIDENTIALITY OF CERTAIN CRIME VICTIM RECORDS.Printed as Section 20A.02, 20A.03, 21.02, 21.11, 22.011, 22.021, 43.05, or 43.25, Penal Code
Human Resources Code
Local Government Code
Penal Code
- Tex. Penal Code § 3.03SENTENCES FOR OFFENSES ARISING OUT OF SAME CRIMINAL EPISODE.Printed as Section 20A.02, 20A.03, or 43.05
- Tex. Penal Code § 12.42PENALTIES FOR REPEAT AND HABITUAL FELONY OFFENDERS ON TRIAL FOR FIRST, SECOND, OR THIRD DEGREE FELONY.Printed as Section 20A.03
- Tex. Penal Code § 20.07OPERATION OF STASH HOUSE.Printed as Section 20.05, 20.06, 20A.02, 20A.03, 43.04, or 43.05 | Section 20.06, 20A.03, or 43.05
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.