Tex. Penal Code § 21.03 · Chapter 21. SEXUAL OFFENSES
CONTINUOUS SEXUAL ABUSE.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) A person commits an offense if:
(1) during a period that is 30 or more days in duration, the person commits two or more acts of sexual abuse against two or more victims; and
(2) at the time of the commission of each of the acts of sexual abuse, the actor is 17 years of age or older.
(b) For purposes of this section, "act of sexual abuse" means any act that is a violation of one or more of the following penal laws:
(1) aggravated kidnapping under Section 20.04(a)(4), if the actor committed the offense with the intent to violate or abuse the victim sexually;
(2) indecency with a child under Section 21.11(a)(1), if the actor committed the offense in a manner other than by touching, including touching through clothing, the breast of a child;
(3) sexual assault under Section 22.011;
(4) aggravated sexual assault under Section 22.021;
(5) burglary under Section 30.02, if the offense is punishable under Subsection (d) of that section and the actor committed the offense with the intent to commit an offense listed in Subdivisions (1)-(4);
(6) sexual performance by a child under Section 43.25;
(7) trafficking of persons under Section 20A.02(a)(3), (4), (7), or (8); and
(8) compelling prostitution under Section 43.05.
(c) If a jury is the trier of fact, members of the jury are not required to agree unanimously on which specific acts of sexual abuse were committed by the defendant or the exact date when those acts were committed. The jury must agree unanimously that the defendant, during a period that is 30 or more days in duration, committed two or more acts of sexual abuse against two or more victims.
(d) A defendant may not be convicted in the same criminal action of an offense listed under Subsection (b) the victim of which is the same victim as a victim of the offense under Subsection (a) unless the offense listed in Subsection (b):
(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).
(e) A defendant may not be charged with more than one count under Subsection (a) if all of the specific acts of sexual abuse that are alleged to have been committed are alleged to have been committed against only two victims.
(f) With respect to a prosecution under this section involving only two or more victims younger than 17 years of age, it is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the actor:
(1) was not more than five years older than the youngest victim of the offense;
(2) did not use duress, force, or a threat against a victim at the time of the commission of any of the acts of sexual abuse alleged as an element of the offense; and
(3) at the time of the commission of any of the acts of sexual abuse alleged as an element 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 or an act of sexual abuse as described by Subsection (b).
(g) An offense under this section is a felony of the first degree.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 557 (H.B. 1422), Sec. 18, 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.21.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 5f92edb704304414230aa1001200f94fc554f9b9181c9cf545bb68fd79497d98
- 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.
Code of Criminal Procedure
Penal Code
- Tex. Penal Code § 20.04AGGRAVATED KIDNAPPING.Printed as Section 20.04(a)(4)
- Tex. Penal Code § 20A.02TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS.Printed as Section 20A.02(a)(3)
- Tex. Penal Code § 21.11INDECENCY WITH A CHILD.Printed as Section 21.11(a)(1)
- Tex. Penal Code § 22.011SEXUAL ASSAULT.Printed as Section 22.011
- Tex. Penal Code § 22.021AGGRAVATED SEXUAL ASSAULT.Printed as Section 22.021
- Tex. Penal Code § 30.02BURGLARY.Printed as Section 30.02
- Tex. Penal Code § 43.05COMPELLING PROSTITUTION.Printed as Section 43.05
- Tex. Penal Code § 43.25SEXUAL PERFORMANCE BY A CHILD.Printed as Section 43.25
Cited by 7 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Tex. Penal Code § 21.03. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Code of Criminal Procedure
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 42A.054LIMITATION ON JUDGE-ORDERED COMMUNITY SUPERVISION.Printed as Section 21.02, 21.03, 21.11, 22.011, 22.021, or 25.02, Penal Code | Section 21.03, Penal Code
- Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 42A.102ELIGIBILITY FOR DEFERRED ADJUDICATION COMMUNITY SUPERVISION.Printed as Section 21.03, Penal Code
Government Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 508.149INMATES INELIGIBLE FOR MANDATORY SUPERVISION.Printed as Section 21.03, Penal Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 508.151PRESUMPTIVE PAROLE DATE.Printed as Section 21.02 or 21.03, Penal Code
- Tex. Gov't Code § 508.189PAROLE FEE FOR CERTAIN RELEASEES.Printed as Section 21.02, 21.03, 21.08, 21.11, 22.011, 22.021, 25.02, 43.25, or 43.26, Penal Code
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