Indecency with a Child

Question: What is indecency with a child?

Answer:

Indecency with a child in Texas can involve behavior such as touching breasts over the clothes. It can involve touching over clothes with no skin-to-skin contact even. What it does require is that it be done with a sexual intent. Sometimes that’s the issue – is it done with a sexual intent or not? You have to be careful because indecency with a child doesn’t require any overt sexual acts, such as penetration of a sexual organ or the type of things that people would normally think of as a sexual act. The sexual assault does not require the state to prove any sexual intent, but requires that in most cases, there be some penetration of some organ. Both of these offenses require you, if you’re convicted, to register as a sex offender for your entire life, so it’s really important to avoid convictions on these offenses.