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Texas has no general civil statute that defines sexual assault. When a survivor sues for damages, the court generally borrows the definitions in the Texas Penal Code: sexual assault (Section 22.011), aggravated sexual assault (Section 22.021) and indecency with a child (Section 21.11). The Texas Supreme Court has said the elements of civil assault mirror those of criminal assault, and the civil deadline statute points directly to the Penal Code sections. A civil case generally does not depend on a criminal conviction, it is usually decided on the lower “more likely than not” standard, and the longer filing deadlines in Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.0045 turn on whether the conduct fits one of those definitions or several related offenses, including continuous sexual abuse and trafficking.
If you are deciding whether you have a claim, the definitions below are the starting point. Call 713-521-0059 and we will tell you what your case needs and get it started, beginning with written notice to whoever holds the video and records so it is kept.
Section 22.011(a)(1) describes sexual assault of a person who did not consent as intentionally or knowingly causing penetration of another person, or causing another person’s sexual organ to contact or penetrate the actor, “without that person’s consent.” Section 22.011(a)(2) describes the same acts against a child, and for a child the statute does not make consent an element. A child, for this section, is a person younger than 17.
Those are the elements a prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. In a civil case the same conduct is the foundation of the claim, but the burden is generally the civil one: more likely than not.
Section 22.011(b) lists the circumstances in which the law treats the conduct as without consent. They include physical force, violence or coercion; threats of force or violence against the person or anyone else; a person who did not consent and who the actor knows is unconscious or physically unable to resist; a person who the actor knows, because of mental disease or defect, cannot appraise the act or resist it; a person who did not consent and who the actor knows is unaware the assault is occurring; and a person the actor knows is intoxicated or impaired by any substance to the extent she is incapable of consenting.
The list also names relationships. Coercion by a public servant; a mental health or health care provider exploiting a patient’s emotional dependency; a clergyman exploiting emotional dependency as a spiritual adviser; an employee of a facility where the person is a resident, unless the two are married; a coach or tutor using power or influence to exploit dependency; and a hired caregiver exploiting dependency are each treated as without consent, in the terms the statute uses. If your assault happened inside one of those relationships, Section 22.011(b) may describe it exactly, and that matters for the deadline discussed below.
Aggravated sexual assault, Section 22.021, is sexual assault plus one of the aggravating circumstances listed in subsection (a)(2), such as serious bodily injury, a deadly weapon or a child victim. It carries the same consent list as Section 22.011.
Indecency with a child, Section 21.11, covers sexual contact with a child younger than 17, including touching through clothing, or exposure in a child’s presence with intent to arouse or gratify. It does not require penetration, and it applies whether or not the actor knew the child’s age. In a civil case these distinctions usually matter less for whether a claim exists than for which filing deadline applies and how the conduct is described to a jury.
Generally, no. A civil lawsuit is a separate proceeding with its own burden of proof. The civil deadline statute, Section 16.0045, speaks of injury that “arises as a result of conduct that violates” the listed Penal Code sections; it refers to the conduct itself, not to a charge or a conviction. A Houston court of appeals applied that statute to negligence claims against a diocese and its churches based on the conduct alleged, and its opinion does not mention any criminal charge or conviction.
But an early police report is usually the best thing you can do for a civil case. The police can secure video and records faster and more broadly than a civil lawyer can before suit, and a prompt report dates your account. If you are able to, report now. If you did not, the civil claim does not disappear; see what if I never reported the assault.
The general Texas deadline for a personal injury suit is two years from the date the claim accrues, under Section 16.003(a). That section expressly yields to Section 16.0045, which sets longer periods for sexual conduct.
Under Section 16.0045(b), a suit for personal injury must be brought “not later than five years after the day the cause of action accrues if the injury arises as a result of conduct that violates” Section 22.011(a)(1) (sexual assault without consent) or Section 22.021(a)(1)(A) (aggravated sexual assault without consent), among other listed sections. Under Section 16.0045(a), the period is 30 years for the listed offenses against children, including Sections 22.011(a)(2), 22.021(a)(1)(B) and 21.11, and the clock generally does not run while the survivor is under 18.
Matching your facts to a subdivision is how the deadline is found. Conduct that is sexual but does not fit a listed section may fall under the two-year rule. Deadlines also depend on when the claim accrued and on amendments that did not revive claims already barred, so treat every date on this page as a reason to call promptly, not as a calculation. Our statute of limitations page goes further.
Both, often. The Penal Code definition describes what the attacker did. The civil claim against a hotel, apartment complex, school, church, employer or care facility is about what that defendant knew and did, and whether its failures made the assault possible. At least one Texas court of appeals has applied the longer Section 16.0045 deadline to negligence claims against such institutions as well as to claims against the attacker, though not every court has read the statute the same way. See who is responsible for a sexual assault.
Every statute and case linked above was read at its primary source. Texas statutes change every legislative session and case law is constantly changing.
This page is general information about Texas law. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
If you remember nothing else from this page, remember these.
When you call, we listen first. Then we do what your case needs. That usually begins with written notice to the business or institution holding video and records, so the evidence is kept while the definitions above are matched to your facts.
Where the case calls for it, we bring in the right experts and, where it serves you, co-counsel with the resources a case like this demands. That decision is made in writing, with your consent, and it does not increase your total fee.
We tell you plainly whether a civil claim may exist, which deadline appears to apply and what it would take. Schiffer Law Firm is a Houston firm and has handled injury cases in Harris County for 50 plus years. There is no charge to talk, and no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery.
Written by Jacob Schiffer, Attorney, Schiffer Law Firm. State Bar of Texas No. 24105175.
Call 713-521-0059.
Generally, yes. A criminal case must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. A civil claim is usually decided by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not. Some remedies, such as exemplary damages, carry a higher standard.
A civil claim is a separate proceeding. The civil deadline statute refers to "conduct that violates" the listed Penal Code sections, not to a conviction, and Texas courts have applied it based on the conduct alleged in the civil case. The criminal outcome can still affect evidence and strategy.
Under the Penal Code sections that Section 16.0045 lists for child victims, the conduct is defined by the child's age, not by consent. Those claims generally fall under the 30-year civil period, and that period usually does not run while the survivor is under 18.
It can. Section 22.011(b) names those relationships and treats the conduct as without consent when the actor exploits the other person's dependency or the relationship in the ways the statute describes. Whether your facts fit one of those categories is a question we can usually answer on the first call.