Yes. Sexual assault under Texas Penal Code § 22.011 is a second-degree felony, punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000. It’s a first-degree felony, 5 to 99 years or life, when it’s charged as aggravated sexual assault under § 22.021 or when the complainant is a close relative covered by the incest statute. There is no misdemeanor version of sexual assault. Unwanted sexual touching of an adult that doesn’t involve penetration or the genital or oral contact § 22.011 covers is a different offense, indecent assault under § 22.012, usually a Class A misdemeanor.
If you’re under investigation or have been charged in Houston or Harris County, call (713) 664-4000 before you talk to a detective. Sexual assault cases are built on statements, and the most damaging statement in many of them is the one the accused person gave voluntarily in the first interview.
How sexual assault is graded in Texas
| Charge | Level | Punishment range |
|---|---|---|
| Indecent assault (sexual touching without the contact § 22.011 requires), § 22.012 | Class A misdemeanor, with felony versions for repeat or certain victims | Up to 1 year in county jail, up to $4,000 |
| Sexual assault, § 22.011 | Second-degree felony | 2 to 20 years, up to $10,000 |
| Sexual assault of a close relative under the incest statute, or of someone the bigamy statute bars you from marrying, § 22.011(f)(1) | First-degree felony | 5 to 99 years or life, up to $10,000 |
| Assisted reproduction using a donor’s material without the patient’s express consent, § 22.011(f)(2) | State jail felony | 180 days to 2 years, up to $10,000 |
| Aggravated sexual assault, § 22.021 | First-degree felony | 5 to 99 years or life, up to $10,000 |
| Aggravated sexual assault of a child under 10, or of a child under 14 with one of the aggravating acts, § 22.021(f) | First-degree felony | 25 to 99 years or life, no parole |
Sources: Penal Code §§ 22.011, 22.012, 22.021, 12.21, 12.32, 12.33 and 12.35; Government Code § 508.145(a).
What the State has to prove
Sexual assault requires penetration, or contact involving a sexual organ, anus or mouth, done intentionally or knowingly and without consent. Section 22.011(b) lists the situations the law treats as no consent. The ones we see most are force or threats of force, and a complainant who was unconscious, unaware, or too intoxicated to consent. The intoxication version, § 22.011(b)(6), requires that the accused knew the person was impaired to the point of being incapable of consenting. Two people who were both drinking is not, by itself, that case, and a lot of these accusations come out of exactly that night.
When the complainant is younger than 17, consent doesn’t matter, and neither does whether you knew their age. That’s § 22.011(a)(2). There’s a narrow affirmative defense in § 22.011(e) when the accused is no more than three years older and the complainant is at least 14. Our page on the Romeo and Juliet law explains who qualifies, and our page on the age of consent in Texas covers the other age lines.
What makes it aggravated
Aggravated sexual assault is the same act plus one of the facts in § 22.021(a)(2), including serious bodily injury or an attempt to kill, threats of death, serious injury or kidnapping, a deadly weapon, acting together with another person, or drugging the victim to make the assault possible. It’s also aggravated when the complainant is younger than 14, and when the complainant is elderly or disabled. See our page on aggravated sexual assault.
Why the felony label is the smaller problem
A judge can’t give you probation after a conviction for sexual assault or aggravated sexual assault. Both are on the list in Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 42A.054(a). A jury can recommend probation on a sentence of 10 years or less, but not if the complainant was under 14, under Art. 42A.056. Deferred adjudication is possible on sexual assault only if the judge finds in open court that it’s in the best interest of the victim, under Art. 42A.102(a), and it’s never available on an aggravated sexual assault that carries the 25-year minimum.
If you go to prison, you’re not eligible for parole until you’ve served half the sentence (capped at 30 years, and never less than two), with no credit for good time, under Government Code § 508.145(d).
And the registration lasts for life. Sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault are “sexually violent offenses” under Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 62.001(6) when the accused was 17 or older, and Art. 62.101(a) makes the duty to register end only at death, with a narrow exception under Art. 62.301 for some close-in-age cases. Deferred adjudication counts. A deferred for sexual assault is a reportable adjudication under Art. 62.001(5), so completing it and getting the case dismissed doesn’t end the registration.
That’s why the charge itself, not the sentence, is where these cases have to be won.
Time limits on the charge
Sexual assault of an adult has a 10-year limitations period under Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 12.01(2)(E), but there’s no limit at all if DNA evidence was collected and hasn’t been tested or doesn’t match anyone identified. There’s also no limit for sexual assault of a child. Our page on the statute of limitations for sexual assault goes through the exceptions.
How these cases are defended
Most sexual assault cases don’t have an eyewitness. They have two people’s accounts, a forensic exam that may or may not show anything, and a phone full of messages. We start with the messages, from before and after, because they often say more about consent than anything in the police report. Then the timeline, starting with when the outcry happened and who heard it first. Then the forensic work, including whether a sexual assault exam found anything consistent with force and whether the DNA question is even in dispute. Our pages on the evidence in a sexual assault case and getting a sexual assault charge dropped cover more of this.
False accusations happen, and so do real encounters that one person later remembers differently. Either way, the State has to prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt, and in a case built on one person’s word, that burden matters more than in almost any other kind of case.
Accused of sexual assault in Houston? Call Blass Law
Jay Blass Cohen has defended serious felony cases in Houston since 2009 and has only ever worked on the defense side. Our Houston sexual assault lawyers handle these cases confidentially, and the earlier we’re involved, the more we can do, including before charges are filed.
Call (713) 664-4000. If a detective has asked you to come in and “tell your side,” call us 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 an appointee to the Texas Indigent Defense Commission by Gov. Abbott in 2024.
Last reviewed September 2026 · This article is legal information, not legal advice. Read Jay’s full bio →