Texas Penal Code: Justification as a Defense

Penal Code - Title 2: General Principles of Criminal Responsibility - Chapter 9: Justification Excluding Criminal Responsibility - Subchapter A: General Provisions

• "Custody" has the meaning assigned by Section 38.01.
• "Escape" has the meaning assigned by Section 38.01.
• "Deadly force" means force intended or known by the actor to cause death or serious bodily injury, or which is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury in the manner of its use.
• "Habitation" has the meaning assigned by Section 30.01.
• "Vehicle" has the meaning assigned by Section 30.01.
• Justification is a defense to prosecution if the conduct is justified under this chapter.
• Confinement is justified when force is justified, provided the actor takes reasonable measures to terminate the confinement as soon as they safely can, unless the confined person has been arrested for an offense.
• A threat of force is justified when the use of force is justified.
• A threat to cause death or serious bodily injury by producing a weapon doesn't constitute deadly force if the actor's purpose is limited to creating apprehension that they will use deadly force if necessary.
• If an actor recklessly injures or kills an innocent third person while threatening or using force, the justification afforded by this chapter is unavailable in a prosecution for the reckless injury or killing.
• Justified conduct doesn't abolish or impair any remedy available in a civil suit.

Subchapter B: Justification Generally

• Conduct is justified if the actor reasonably believes it is required or authorized by law, court order, or in the execution of legal process, except as qualified by Subsections (b) and (c).
• Other sections of this chapter govern force used to protect persons, property, for law enforcement, or by virtue of a special relationship.
• The use of deadly force is not justified unless specifically required by statute or in the lawful conduct of war, with no duty to retreat before using it.
• Justification is available if the actor reasonably believes the court has jurisdiction or the process is lawful, or to assist a public servant, even if the servant exceeds their authority.
• Conduct is justified by necessity if the actor reasonably believes it is immediately necessary to avoid imminent harm, and the desirability and urgency of avoiding the harm outweigh the harm sought to be prevented by the law.
• It is not justified if a legislative purpose to exclude the justification claimed for the conduct otherwise plainly appears.

Subchapter C: Protection of Persons

• A person is justified in using force against another when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to protect against the other's use or attempted use of unlawful force.
• The actor's belief that force was immediately necessary is presumed reasonable if the actor knew or had reason to believe that the person against whom the force was used unlawfully and with force entered or was attempting to enter unlawfully and with force the actor's occupied habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment, or was committing or attempting to commit aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery.
• This is only presumed if the actor did not provoke the person and was not otherwise engaged in criminal activity (other than a Class C misdemeanor traffic violation).
• The use of force is not justified in response to verbal provocation alone, to resist a lawful arrest or search, if the actor consented to the force used, or if the actor provoked the other's use of force.
• But the use of force to resist an arrest or search is justified if the peace officer uses greater force than necessary and when the actor reasonably believes force is immediately necessary to protect against the officer's use of greater force.
• A person with a right to be present at the location is not required to retreat before using force if they haven't provoked the person against whom the force is used and are not engaged in criminal activity.
• Deadly force is justified if the actor would be justified in using force under Section 9.31; and when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary to protect against the other's use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force, or to prevent the imminent commission of aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery
• In the circumstances above the actor's belief is presumed to be reasonable.
• There is no duty to retreat before using deadly force in defense of person.
• A person is justified in using force or deadly force against another to protect a third person if the actor would be justified in using force or deadly force to protect himself and the actor reasonably believes that his intervention is immediately necessary to protect the third person.
• A person is justified in using force to prevent suicide or serious bodily injury to himself, but may not use deadly force.
• A person may use both force and deadly force to preserve another's life in an emergency.
• A physician or health care provider is justified in exercising reasonable medical judgment in providing medical treatment to a pregnant woman as described by Section 74.552, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.

Subchapter D: Protection of Property

• A person in lawful possession of land or tangible, movable property is justified in using force against another when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to prevent or terminate the other's trespass on the land or unlawful interference with the property.
• A person unlawfully dispossessed of property is justified in using force to reenter the land or recover the property if they use the force immediately or in fresh pursuit after dispossession and reasonably believe the other had no claim of right or accomplished the dispossession by force, threat, or fraud.
• Deadly force is justified to protect land or property if force would be justified and when and to the degree deadly force is immediately necessary to prevent arson, burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, theft during the nighttime, or criminal mischief during the nighttime, or to prevent escape after such crimes.
• Additionally, there is no other means the property can be recovered, and the use of anything but deadly force would expose the actor or another to substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.
• A person can use force or deadly force to protect a third person's property under conditions they would be justified in protecting their own property.

Subchapter E: Law Enforcement

• A peace officer, or someone acting in their presence and at their direction, can use force against another when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes it is immediately necessary to make or assist in making an arrest or search, or to prevent or assist in preventing escape after arrest if the actor reasonably believes the arrest or search is lawful or the warrant is valid.
• Before using force, the actor must manifest the purpose and identity as a peace officer, unless purpose and identity are known or can’t be reasonably made known
• A person other than a peace officer can use force to make a lawful arrest or prevent escape after lawful arrest if they manifest their purpose and the reason for the arrest or reasonably believe it is already known.
• A peace officer is justified in using deadly force when reasonably believing it’s immediately necessary to make an arrest, or to prevent escape after arrest, if the use of force would have been justified under Subsection (a) and the actor reasonably believes the conduct for which arrest is authorized included the use or attempted use of deadly force, or there is a substantial risk the person will cause death or serious bodily injury if the arrest is delayed.
• A non-peace officer may use deadly force to make a lawful arrest or prevent escape if the use of force would have been justified under Subsection (b) and the felony or offense included the use or attempted use of deadly force, or there is a substantial risk the person will cause death or serious bodily injury if the arrest is delayed.
• There is no duty to retreat before using deadly force in law enforcement.
• The above does not conflict with any other law relating to the issuance, service, and execution of an arrest or search warrant.
• Deadly force may only be used under the circumstances enumerated in Subsections (c) and (d).
• Force to prevent escape of an arrested person from custody is justifiable when force could have been employed to effect the arrest.
• A guard employed by a correctional facility or a peace officer can use any force, including deadly force, that they reasonably believe is immediately necessary to prevent the escape of a person from the correctional facility.
• An officer or employee of a correctional facility may use force when and to the degree they reasonably believe it is necessary to maintain security of the facility, the safety or security of other persons in custody or employed by the facility, or their own safety or security.
• The use of force, including deadly force, involving a drone is justified only if the actor was employed by a law enforcement agency, the use of force would have been justified under another provision of this subchapter, the use of force did not involve an autonomous drone, and the law enforcement agency employing the actor adopted and submitted to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement a policy on the agency's use of force by means of a drone and the use of force conformed to the requirements of that policy.

Subchapter F: Special Relationships

• The use of force, but not deadly force, against a child younger than 18 years is justified if the actor is the child's parent or stepparent or is acting in loco parentis; and when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force is necessary to discipline the child or to safeguard or promote his welfare.
• In loco parentis includes grandparent and guardian, any person acting by, through, or under the direction of a the court, and anyone who has express or implied consent of the parent or parents.
• The use of force, but not deadly force, against a person is justified if the actor is entrusted with the care, supervision, or administration of the person for a special purpose, and when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force is necessary to further the special purpose or to maintain discipline in a group.
• The use of force, but not deadly force, against a mental incompetent is justified if the actor is the incompetent's guardian or someone similarly responsible for the general care and supervision of the incompetent; and when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force is necessary to safeguard and promote the incompetent's welfare, or to maintain discipline if the incompetent is in an institution for their care.

Penal Code - Title 5: Offenses Against the Person - Chapter 19: Criminal Homicide

• A person commits criminal homicide if they intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence causes the death of an individual.
• Criminal homicide is murder, capital murder, manslaughter, or criminally negligent homicide.
• "Adequate cause" means cause that would commonly produce a degree of anger, rage, resentment, or terror in a person of ordinary temper, sufficient to render the mind incapable of cool reflection.
• "Sudden passion" means passion directly caused by and arising out of provocation by the individual killed or another acting with the person killed which passion arises at the time of the offense and is not solely the result of former provocation.
• A person commits murder if they intentionally or knowingly causes the death of an individual; intends to cause serious bodily injury and commits an act clearly dangerous to human life that causes the death of an individual; commits or attempts to commit a felony and in the course of and in furtherance of the commission or attempt, or in immediate flight from the commission or attempt, the person commits or attempts to commit an act clearly dangerous to human life that causes the death of an individual; or knowingly manufactures or delivers a controlled substance included in Penalty Group 1-B under Section 481.1022, Health and Safety Code, in violation of Section 481.1123, Health and Safety Code, and an individual dies as a result of injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or introducing into the individual's body any amount of the controlled substance manufactured or delivered by the actor.
• Murder is a felony of the first degree, unless the defendant proves they caused the death under the immediate influence of sudden passion arising from an adequate cause, in which case it is a felony of the second degree.
• It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (b)(4) that the actor's conduct in manufacturing or delivering the controlled substance was authorized under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, or other state or federal law.
• A person commits capital murder if they commit murder as defined under Section 19.02(b)(1) and the person murders a peace officer or fireman who is acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty and who the person knows is a peace officer or fireman; the person intentionally commits the murder in the course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, burglary, robbery, aggravated sexual assault, arson, obstruction or retaliation, or terroristic threat under Section 22.07(a)(1), (3), (4), (5), or (6); the person commits the murder for remuneration or the promise of remuneration or employs another to commit the murder for remuneration or the promise of remuneration; the person commits the murder while escaping or attempting to escape from a penal institution; the person, while incarcerated in a penal institution, murders another who is employed in the operation of the penal institution, or with the intent to establish, maintain, or participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination; the person, while incarcerated for an offense under this section or Section 19.02, murders another, or while serving a sentence of life imprisonment or a term of 99 years for an offense under Section 20.04, 22.021, or 29.03, murders another; the person murders more than one person during the same criminal transaction, or during different criminal transactions but the murders are committed pursuant to the same scheme or course of conduct; the person murders an individual under 10 years of age; the person murders an individual 10 years of age or older but younger than 15 years of age; or the person murders another person in retaliation for or on account of the service or status of the other person as a judge or justice of the supreme court, the court of criminal appeals, a court of appeals, a district court, a criminal district court, a constitutional county court, a statutory county court, a justice court, or a municipal court.
• Capital Murder is a capital felony.
• If the jury or judge does not find the defendant guilty of capital murder beyond a reasonable doubt, they may be convicted of murder or any other lesser included offense.
• The actor is presumed to have known the person murdered was a peace officer or fireman if the person was wearing a distinctive uniform or badge indicating the person's employment as a peace officer or fireman.
• A person commits manslaughter if they recklessly causes the death of an individual.
• Manslaughter is a felony of the second degree, except that the offense is a felony of the first degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant committed an offense under Section 28.09 and that conduct caused the death of an individual.
• A person commits criminally negligent homicide if they causes the death of an individual by criminal negligence.
• Criminally Negligent Homicide is a state jail felony.
• This chapter does not apply to the death of an unborn child if the conduct charged is conduct committed by the mother of the unborn child; a lawful medical procedure performed by a physician or other licensed health care provider with the requisite consent, if the death of the unborn child was the intended result of the procedure; a lawful medical procedure performed by a physician or other licensed health care provider with the requisite consent as part of an assisted reproduction as defined by Section 160.102, Family Code; or the dispensation of a drug in accordance with law or administration of a drug prescribed in accordance with law.

Penal Code - Title 5: Offenses Against the Person - Chapter 20: Kidnapping, Unlawful Restraint, and Smuggling of Persons

• "Restrain" means to restrict a person's movements without consent, so as to interfere substantially with the person's liberty, by moving the person from one place to another or by confining the person.
• Restraint is "without consent" if it is accomplished by force, intimidation, or deception; or any means, including acquiescence of the victim, if the victim is a child less than 14 years of age or an incompetent person and the parent, guardian, or person or institution acting in loco parentis has not acquiesced in the movement or confinement, or the victim is a child 14 years of age or older and younger than 17 years of age, the victim is taken outside of the state and outside a 120-mile radius from the victim's residence, and the parent, guardian, or person or institution acting in loco parentis has not acquiesced in the movement.
• "Abduct" means to restrain a person with intent to prevent their liberation by secreting or holding them in a place where they are not likely to be found, or using or threatening to use deadly force.
• "Relative" means a parent or stepparent, ancestor, sibling, or uncle or aunt, including an adoptive relative of the same degree through marriage or adoption.
• "Person" means an individual or a corporation, association, limited liability company, or other entity or organization governed by the Business Organizations Code.
• Notwithstanding Section 1.07, "individual" means a human being who has been born and is alive.
• "Agricultural land" has the meaning assigned by Section 75.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
• "Firearm" has the meaning assigned by Section 46.01.
• "Special investigator" includes an agent of the United States Department of Homeland Security.
• A person commits unlawful restraint if they intentionally or knowingly restrains another person.
• An affirmative defense is that the person restrained was a child younger than 14 years of age, the actor was a relative of the child, and the actor's sole intent was to assume lawful control of the child.
• Unlawful Restraint is a Class A misdemeanor, unless the person restrained was a child younger than 17 years of age, in which case it's a state jail felony, or exposes the victim to a substantial risk of serious bodily injury, restrains a public servant while lawfully discharging an official duty, or restrains any other person who is in custody or committed to a civil commitment facility, in which case it's a felony of the third degree, or the individual the actor restrains is a peace officer or judge while the officer or judge is lawfully discharging an official duty, in which case it's a felony of the second degree.
• It is no offense to detain or move another for the purpose of effecting a lawful arrest or detaining an individual lawfully arrested.
• It is a defense if the person restrained was a child between 14 and 17, the actor does not restrain the child by force, intimidation, or deception; and the actor is not more than three years older than the child.
• A person commits kidnapping if they intentionally or knowingly abducts another person.
• An affirmative defense is that the abduction was not coupled with intent to use or threaten deadly force, the actor was a relative of the person abducted, and the actor's sole intent was to assume lawful control of the victim.
• Kidnapping is a felony of the third degree.
• A person commits aggravated kidnapping if they intentionally or knowingly abducts another person with the intent to hold them for ransom or reward, use them as a shield or hostage, facilitate the commission of a felony or the flight after the attempt or commission of a felony, inflict bodily injury or violate or abuse them sexually, terrorize them or or a third person, or interfere with the performance of any governmental or political function.
• A person commits an offense if they intentionally or knowingly abducts another person and uses or exhibits a deadly weapon during the commission of the offense.
• Except as provided by Subsection (d), aggravated kidnapping is a felony of the first degree.
• At the punishment stage of a trial, the defendant may raise the issue as to whether he voluntarily released the victim in a safe place. If the defendant proves the issue in the affirmative by a preponderance of the evidence, the offense is a felony of the second degree.
• A person commits smuggling of persons if the person knowingly uses a motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or other means of conveyance to transport an individual with the intent to conceal the individual from a peace officer or special investigator, or flee from a person the actor knows is a peace officer or special investigator attempting to lawfully arrest or detain the actor; encourages or induces a person to enter or remain in this country in violation of federal law by concealing, harboring, or shielding that person from detection; or assists, guides, or directs two or more individuals to enter or remain on agricultural land without the effective consent of the owner.
• Smuggling of Persons is a felony of the third degree with a term of imprisonment of 10 years unless the actor commits the offense in a manner that creates a substantial likelihood that the smuggled individual will suffer serious bodily injury or death, the smuggled individual is a child younger than 18 years of age at the time of the offense, the offense was committed with the intent to obtain a pecuniary benefit, during the commission of the offense the actor or assisted individual possessed a firearm, or the actor commits the offense under Subsection (a)(1)(B), in which case it's a felony of the second degree, or as a direct result of the commission of the offense, the smuggled individual became a victim of sexual assault or aggravated sexual assault, or the smuggled individual suffered serious bodily injury or death, in which case it's a felony of the first degree.
• If the attorney representing the state in the prosecution of the offense certifies to the court that the actor has provided significant cooperation to the state or law enforcement, the minimum term of imprisonment is five years.
• At the punishment stage,the actor may raise the issue as to whether the actor is related to the smuggled individual in the third degree of consanguinity or, at the time of the offense, in the third degree of affinity.
• An affirmative defense is that the actor is related to the smuggled individual within the second degree of consanguinity or, at the time of the offense, within the second degree of affinity.
• If conduct constituting an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the actor may be prosecuted under either section or under both sections.
• A person commits continuous smuggling of persons if, during a period that is 10 or more days in duration, the person engages two or more times in conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 20.05.
• 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 20.05 or on which exact date the defendant engaged in that conduct. The jury must agree unanimously that the defendant, during a period that is 10 or more days in duration, engaged two or more times in conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 20.05.
• If the victim of an offense under Subsection (a) is the same victim as a victim of an offense under Section 20.05, a defendant may not be convicted of the offense under Section 20.05 in the same criminal action as the offense under Subsection (a), unless the offense under Section 20.05 is charged in the alternative, occurred outside the period in which the offense alleged under Subsection (a) was committed; or is considered by the trier of fact to be a lesser included offense of the offense alleged under Subsection (a).
• Continuous Smuggling of Persons is a felony of the second degree with a minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years, unless the conduct involves creating likelihood of a smuggled individual suffering serious bodily injury or death, or the smuggled individual is a child younger than 18 years of age, in which case it's a felony of the first degree, or as a direct result of the commission of the offense, the smuggled individual became a victim of sexual assault or aggravated sexual assault, or the smuggled individual suffered serious bodily injury or death in which case it's 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.
• A person commits the offense of operation of a stash house if the person knowingly uses or permits another to use any real estate, building, room, tent, vehicle, boat, or other property owned by the person or under the person's control to commit an offense or to facilitate the commission of an offense under Section 20.05, 20.06, 20A.02, 20A.03, 43.04, or 43.05, or rents or leases any property to another, intending that the property be used as described by Subdivision (1).
• Operation of a Stash House is a felony of the third degree with a minimum term of imprisonment of five years, unless the offense is committed under circumstances that meet conditions listed in the statute.

Penal Code - Title 5: Offenses Against the Person - Chapter 20A: Trafficking of Persons

• "Child" means a person younger than 18 years of age.
• "Coercion" includes destroying, concealing, confiscating, or withholding from a trafficked person, or threatening to destroy, conceal, confiscate, or withhold from a trafficked person, the person's actual or purported government records or identifying information or documents; causing a trafficked person, without the person's consent, to become intoxicated to a degree that impairs the person's ability to appraise the nature of or resist engaging in any conduct; or withholding alcohol or a controlled substance to a degree that impairs the ability of a trafficked person with a chemical dependency to appraise the nature of or resist engaging in any conduct.
• "Disabled individual" has the meaning assigned by Section 22.021(b).
• "Forced labor or services" means labor or services, other than labor or services that constitute sexual conduct, that are performed or provided by another person and obtained through an actor's use of force, fraud, or coercion.
• "Premises" has the meaning assigned by Section 481.134, Health and Safety Code.
• "School" means a public or private primary or secondary school.
• "Sexual conduct" has the meaning assigned by Section 43.25.
• "Traffic" means to transport, entice, recruit, harbor, provide, or otherwise obtain another person by any means.
• A person traffics another person with the intent that the trafficked person engage in forced labor or services; receives a benefit from participating in a venture that involves an activity described by Subdivision (1), including by receiving labor or services the person knows are forced labor or services; traffics another person and, through force, fraud, or coercion, causes the trafficked person to engage in conduct prohibited by Section 43.02 (Prostitution), Section 43.03 (Promotion of Prostitution), Section 43.031 (Online Promotion of Prostitution), Section 43.04 (Aggravated Promotion of Prostitution), Section 43.041 (Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution), or Section 43.05 (Compelling Prostitution); receives a benefit from participating in a venture that involves an activity described by Subdivision (3) or engages in sexual conduct with a person trafficked in the manner described in Subdivision (3); traffics a child or disabled individual with the intent that the trafficked child or disabled individual engage in forced labor or services; receives a benefit from participating in a venture that involves an activity described by Subdivision (5), including by receiving labor or services the person knows are forced labor or services; traffics a child or disabled individual and by any means causes the trafficked child or disabled individual to engage in, or become the victim of, conduct prohibited by the statute.
• Trafficking of Persons is a felony of the second degree, unless it's a felony of the first degree due to the applicable circumstances, or it is found to have occurred near a school, juvenile detention facility, etc, in which case it's a felony punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life or for a term of not more than 99 years or less than 25 years
• If conduct constituting an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the actor may be prosecuted under either section or under both sections.
• Continuous Trafficking of Persons occurs 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.
• Continuous Trafficking of Persons 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.
• A party to an offense under this chapter may be required to provide evidence or testify about the offense.
• A party to an offense under this chapter may not be prosecuted for any offense about which the party is required to provide evidence or testif, and the evidence and testimony may not be used against the party in any adjudicatory proceeding except a prosecution for aggravated perjury.
• A conviction under this chapter may be had on the uncorroborated testimony of a party to the offense.

Penal Code - Title 5: Offenses Against the Person - Chapter 21: Sexual Offenses

• "Deviate sexual intercourse" means any contact between any part of the genitals of one person and the mouth or anus of another person, or the penetration of the genitals or the anus of another person with an object.
• "Sexual contact" means, except as provided by Section 21.11 or 21.12, any touching of the anus, breast, or any part of the genitals of another person with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person.
• "Sexual intercourse" means any penetration of the female sex organ by the male sex organ.
• "Spouse" means a person to whom a person is legally married under Subtitle A, Title 1, Family Code, or a comparable law of another jurisdiction.
• "Child" has the meaning assigned by Section 22.011(c).
• "Disabled individual" has the meaning assigned by Section 22.021(b).
• A person commits continuous sexual abuse of a young child or disabled individual if during a period that is 30 or more days in duration, the person commits two or more acts of sexual abuse, and at the time of the commission of each of the acts of sexual abuse, the actor is 17 years of age or older and the victim is a child younger than 14 years of age or a disabled individual.
• For the purposes of the above, "act of sexual abuse" is defined a series of offenses listed in the penal code.
• It is an affirmative defense that the actor was not more than five years older than the victim, 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 was not required to register as a sex offender.
• This offense 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.
• A person commits the offense of public lewdness if the person knowingly engages in any acts of sexual intercourse, deviate sexual intercourse, or sexual touching in public, or if not in public, and they are reckless about the presence of those who could be offended or alarmed by the aforementioned acts.
• The offense of Public Lewdness is a class A misdemeanor, unless the individual is civilly committed as a violent sexual predator, then they are guilty of a third degree felony.
• A person commits the offense of indecent exposure if they expose any party of their genitals or rectum, with the intent to sexually aroused themselves or another, and they are reckless on if others who may be alarmed and offended are present.
• Indecent exposure is a Class B misdemeanor unless the actor is civilly committed as a sexually violent predator in which case it is a felony of the third degree, or if they have previous convictions with the same offense, then their offense increases by one class.
• A person knowingly commits the offense of bestiality if they participate in acts between the mouth, genitals and anus of themselves and an animal, cause an animal's genitals or rectum to touch the fluid of a person, place a foreign objects into the aforementioned areas, or perform various other actions with the intent to see the animal for the act bestiality.
• The Offense of Bestiality is a state jail felony or second degree felony depending on the act.
• A person commits the offense of Indecency With a Child if they touch a child under seventeen in an inappropriate way, regardless of the intent to hurt the child and the knowledge of harming them.
• The Affirmative defense for the aforementioned conduct consists of the individual being no more than three years older than the child, the victim being safe and not harmed, and the abuser not having been convicted of sex crimes in the past.
• The offense of Indecency With a Child is a third or second degree felony depending on what act was committed. _ A public school employee commits the offense of An Improper Relationship Between Educator and Student, if they engage in intercourse or other listed crimes on the penal code, or if they take a student in the district under their care.
• Improper Relationship Between Educator and Student is a second degree felony, however, the teacher can claim the affirmative defense if they were already married to the student, or in a relationship that began before teaching the student.
• A Defendant may be charged with both this offense and other equivalent offenses that fit the crime.
• An educator accused of the aforementioned charges may not have their name revealed to the public until they are indicted for the crime.
• Aperson commits the offense of Invasive Visual Recording if an area of the body is filmed without the subject's consent, whether the incident happens in an area of privacy, such as a bathroom, or not. One is also unable to promote material filmed in such ways. This material is often of an intimate part of someone's body, in which they expect it to not be captured. Posting signs which say a person is being filmed does override their need to consent.
• Invasive Visual Recording is a state jail felony.
• The crime of Unlawful Disclosure or Promotion of Intimate Visual Material is committed when images of another person are broadcast and distributed, especially if they are of intimate parts or of a sexual manner. This crime relies on the damage towards the subject needing to happen. This crime also applies when an act is threatened to be committed.
• The defense for this crime cannot be that they consented to the photo.
• The crime is a state jail felony.
• A person commits voyeurism if there is sexual intent to observe another being in an area that holds the general expectation of privacy, without the others consent. There will likely be a remote device used during the crime.
• Voyeurism is a class C misdemeanor, but increases from there depending on the act.
• The crime of sexual coercion exists when someone is threatened into any act that provides benefit.
• Sexual coercion is a state jail felony, except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant has previously been convicted of an offense under this section.
• A person may not transmit sexually explicit material by means of electric device, if the receiving end does request or consent for the material to be sent.
• Unlawful Electronic Transmission of Sexually Explicit Visual Material is a Class C misdemeanor.

Penal Code - Title 5: Offenses Against the Person - Chapter 22: Assaultive Offenses

• A person commits assault if they intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes bodily injury to another, intentionally or knowingly threatens another with imminent bodily injury, or intentionally or knowingly causes physical contact with another when the person should reasonably believe that the other will regard the contact as offensive or provocative.
• Assault is typically a Class A misdemeanor, but it is a felony of the third degree if the offense is committed against a public servant, family member, or government employee.
• Assaults can also be third degree felonies if the actor is committed to a civil restraint facility.
• A person commits assault if they are intentionally restricting a person's breathing as well.
• Assault is a felony of the second degree if committed against either a judge or police officer lawfully performing their duties.