Yes. Texas is an at-will state, so your employer can fire you over a sexual assault arrest alone, and many will put you on leave the day they hear about it. What you say to HR in that first week can end up in the prosecutor’s file. Call (713) 664-4000 before you give your employer any statement.
An Arrest doesn’t Mean You’ll Automatically Lose Your Job
Texas is an at-will state, which means your employer can fire you if you were arrested. However, it’s up to your employer whether or not they do so.
The circumstances of your arrest and your job will play large parts in whether your arrest leaves you unemployed.
If your profession requires security clearance or you deal with children or vulnerable adults, your employer may deem you a danger.
A Conviction Means You’ll Likely Lose Your Job
If you are convicted of sexual assault, you can expect to lose your job. Probation is possible in some sexual assault cases, but the prison range is two to 20 years. If you’re locked up, you can expect that your employer won’t hold your job for any length of time, let alone several years.
An Arrest or Conviction Will Also Likely Make It Difficult to Get a New Job
Job applications often ask if you’ve been arrested or convicted of a crime. A lot of employers reject candidates, no matter how qualified, once they see someone’s been in serious trouble with the law. That goes double for crimes like sexual assault. Even if you don’t admit to an arrest or conviction, it’ll usually show up on a background check.
What to tell your employer
Tell them as little as you’re required to. If they already know, confirm the arrest, say your lawyer has told you not to discuss the facts, and stop there. Anything in an HR interview or a written statement can be subpoenaed. If your job has a reporting rule (teachers, nurses, pilots, anyone with a license or a security clearance), we’ll tell you exactly what you have to disclose and when. Call (713) 664-4000 before that meeting with HR.
There are certain laws about background checks, though. In Texas, potential employers must give written notice that a background check will be done and receive written authorization for the background check.
If the employer decides to reject a candidate, they must let the candidate know why and give them a copy of the report. They must also give them the name and address of the service who performed the background check.
You Can Lose Your Professional License If You Are Convicted
If your job requires a professional license, you will likely need to change industries. This is because a criminal conviction above a Class C misdemeanor could mean revocation of your current professional license or denial of a new application.
Will the Sexual Assault Charge Remain on My Record?
Yes. The arrest can stay on your criminal record even if the charge is dismissed, unless it’s expunged. A background check for a job won’t consider an arrest or conviction older than seven years if the job pays less than $75,000 a year. But if the employer runs the background search themselves, they could see an arrest or conviction more than seven years old.
A dropped sexual assault charge is better than a conviction. You can explain an arrest, but a conviction is a record that is hard for a potential employer to ignore.
What Other Penalties Will I Face for Sexual Assault?
If you are convicted of sexual assault, the penalties you face depend on the severity of the assault. If you were convicted of second-degree felony sexual assault, you face 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. If you were convicted of first-degree felony sexual assault, you face 5 to 99 years or life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
You’ll lose your right to vote until your sentence is fully discharged, and federal law bars anyone with a felony conviction from having a firearm. Some lenders may turn you down for a loan or a mortgage. You will also likely be unable to live where you want as you’ll be on the sex offender registry. You could lose family and friends, face humiliation and social stigma, and even lose custody of your kids.
An arrest is not a conviction, and almost everything on this page only happens if you’re convicted.
Defenses Against Sexual Assault Charges
There are a few defenses we can use to protect your freedom and future:
- Alibi: evidence that you were somewhere else. You don’t have to prove anything, but showing where you really were can end a case early.
- Mistaken identity: the accuser picked the wrong person, and the evidence shows it.
- Consent: the messages or witnesses show the alleged victim consented (or that you reasonably believed they did).
- False allegation: the accuser’s story doesn’t hold up against the texts or the timeline.
- Violation of your rights: police or prosecutors broke the rules during the investigation or the arrest, and what they got that way gets thrown out.
Jay has defended these cases since 2009, and we’ll use that experience to determine the best option for you.
Jay Will Protect Your Freedom, Your Future, and Your Job
When you work with our criminal defense team, we fight hard to keep you out of prison, off the registry, and in your home, with your current job, if possible.
We’ll fight to keep your record as clean as possible by getting the charges dropped as soon as we can.
If we can’t get your charges dropped, we start building a strong defense. That can involve:
- Investigating the situation
- Determining whether you have a solid alibi
- Identifying any witnesses
- Seeing whether the police made mistakes or engaged in misconduct
- Determining what defense applies best in your case
Jay has been a criminal defense attorney his entire career. Over that time, he has fought to keep innocent people innocent and to give people who have made mistakes the second chance they need. Because Jay has been in Houston his entire career, he has dealt with all the local judges and attorneys.
Jay has defended sex crime cases in Harris County since 2009 and has never worked for the prosecution.
Protect Your Future With Blass Law
The road forward can be difficult, but you have options. You have our team in your corner. The Blass Law team is ready to stand by you and fight for a future clear of prison time or stigma.
Call us today to get started with a confidential consultation. We help people facing criminal charges in Houston and the surrounding area. See what we can do for you today.
Charged with this in Houston, or worried you’re about to be? Call (713) 664-4000 or fill out the form on this page for a free, confidential consultation. We’ll tell you where your case stands and what we’d do first.
A Houston DWI and criminal defense attorney since 2009 who has never worked for the prosecution. Jay is an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist, a certified practitioner and instructor of Standardized Field Sobriety Testing, a certified Drug Recognition Expert, and trained in forensic chromatography. He is a member of the National College for DUI Defense, a founding member of the DUI Defense Lawyers Association, and a commissioner on the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, appointed by Gov. Abbott in 2023.
Last reviewed July 2026 · This article is legal information, not legal advice. Read Jay’s full bio →