Call Now
713-521-0059
In the eyes of Texas criminal law, anyone under the age of 17 is considered a child. Sex crimes against children, especially those of a sexual nature, are serious and aggressively prosecuted by the State of Texas, and punishments can range all the way to life in prison.
If you or a loved one has been accused of aggravated sexual assault of a child, you need an experienced lawyer who will fight for you and defend your good name. You should never fight these charges alone, nor with an unqualified, inexperienced, our overwhelmed lawyer.
When you contact Schiffer Law Firm, you don’t just get an experienced sex crimes defense team who’ve tried cases like this before, you get a compassionate and understanding law firm with sex crimes defense experience, sex offender therapy and expert witness relationships, and decades worth of resources to help your fight for freedom.
When you work with our team, we guarantee we will never make any judgments based on any allegations. It is our job to find the best legal defense suitable for your unique circumstances and accusations and charges made against you. We guarantee every client will be treated with the utmost dignity and respect they deserve.
Section 22.021 of the Texas Penal Code defines aggravated sexual assault as a sexual assault with two elements. The first element is the sexual assault itself. That means intentionally and knowingly penetrating another’s sex organ, anus, and/or mouth without consent, or forcing the victim’s mouth on the accused’s sex organ or anus. The second element has to do with certain aggravating factors accompanying the sexual contact. These factors include:
(a) serious bodily injury to the alleged victim;
(b) an attempt to kill the alleged victim;
(c) the alleged victim feared they or someone else would die;
(d) the alleged victim feared they or someone else would be harmed;
(e) the alleged victim feared they or someone else would be kidnapped;
(f) a deadly weapon was used or displayed;
(h) the accused acted in concert with another in the initial act;
(i) the accused facilitated the initial act by using a drug such as rohypnol, gamma hydroxybutyrate or ketamine; or
(j) the victim is under the age of 14, is disabled, or is elderly.
This crime is committed when the two above elements are present against any victim under the age of 17. If the alleged victim is under the age of 14, there doesn’t need to be any other aggravating factor like violent force, the use of threats, weapons, or drugs. The age of the child becomes the aggravating factor in and of itself. While the prerequisite of force, violence, and the like isn’t necessary to elevate the crime to aggravated, if any of those other factors are present, the charge can be more serious.
Even if the alleged under aged victim gave consent, under Texas law, the victim is considered a child, a person would still be guilty of the crime of aggravated sexual assault, because the victim is too young to give legally valid consent to a sexual act. Since consent would not be a viable defense, having an experienced and effective defense attorney on your side is even more important.
To obtain a conviction, a prosecutor must first prove that all of the elements have occurred for the crime that has been charged, as it’s defined, to have been committed. That also means that the age of the alleged victim has to be properly determined. If there are other factors in place that make the crime “aggravated” those need to be proven as well. All of the elements must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt for the prosecutor to obtain a verdict of guilty.
That isn’t necessarily an easy task. Perhaps it was a case of mistaken identity and you’re not the person who committed the crime. Perhaps the alleged victim is lying about what happened. There are a number ways to make the prosecution’s job difficult to do. That is why it is critical for you to engage a knowledgeable and experienced defense attorney from the very outset.
If you’ve been tried and found guilty of aggravated sexual assault of a child, you’re looking at a first-degree felony, which is punishable by a sentence of anywhere from five to 99 years in a state prison, along with fines up to $10,000. These are extreme penalties, which is why obtaining the services of a decent defense attorney is so critical.
Here is a breakdown of related sexual assault crimes and their punishments:
| Crime | Classification | Punishment |
| Aggravated sexual assault of an adult or child | First-degree felony | 5-99 years in state prison, maximum fines of $10,000, lifetime sex offender registration |
| Super aggravated sexual assault of a child | First-degree felony | 25 years to life in state prison, maximum fines of $10,000, lifetime sex offender registration, ineligible for parole |
| Sexual assault of an adult or child | Second-degree felony | 2-20 years in state prison, maximum fines of $10,000, lifetime sex offender registration |
The sad truth is that when you’re found guilty of aggravated sexual assault of a child (or any crime, for that matter) your punishment doesn’t end with the completion of your sentence. When you’re convicted of this crime, there are consequences that affect your entire life. Some of these ramifications are:
One of the most humiliating and difficult to manage consequences of a conviction is that you will be required to register with the State of Texas as a sex offender, because aggravated sexual assault of a child is a reportable offense in Texas. This is a lifetime registration, which begins when you’re released from prison. As a registered sex offender, your name and address will appear in a public database that can be accessed by everyone. This will affect where you can live and where you’re able to work, and may damage your personal and professional relationships.
The answer is simple, consent and/or ignorance can never be used to justify the acts necessary to prove aggravated sexual assault of a child.
A minor child cannot consent. Further, if the aggravating factor was the use of drugs or threat, even if a minor child states they agreed to take the drugs, or were not in fear of the threat, it does not discredit the required element when proving its existence.
Because of the serious nature of these child sexual assault cases, prosecutors aggressively pursue all those accused. However, the necessary elements of these cases are not always easy to prove and takes an experienced firm to spot these holes and overcome everyone’s social protective bias.
During the trial, the prosecution must prove that each element of the crime has occurred, and that the accused is the person who actually committed it.
For instance, the prosecution has to prove the age of the alleged victim at the time of the offense. In an aggravated sexual assault of a child case, the prosecution must prove the complaining witness was a minor at that time of the alleged offense, or that the child was younger than fourteen (14) and was the victim of serious bodily injury or there was an attempt to kill the child. “Serious” is a legal term that requires both a factual and legal analysis, and that Jacob Schiffer exactly the work Schiffer Law Firm knows how to dissect and prove up.
This can prove difficult if the individual makes the allegation years or decades later. Nevertheless, it is a required element that must be proven by the state to pursue a final conviction.
The prosecution will also have to prove that the other factors outlined in the definition of the crime were present. Everything that the prosecution presents needs to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in order to obtain a verdict of guilty.
That can leave room for a knowledgeable and skilled defense team to shred up and attack the prosecution’s case, exposing glaring discrepancies, ulterior motives, and malicious allegations by either the victim themselves, or more commonly, an adult outcry witness with something to gain, either revenge, money, power, or custody.
Having a quality defense attorney no doubt can be the difference between your freedom and a lengthy prison sentence.
An aggravated sexual assault of a child charge would be escalated to “super aggravated sexual assault of a child” if the alleged victim is under the age of six (6), or if the child is younger than fourteen (14) and the sexual assault caused serious bodily injury or there was an attempt to kill the child.
Yes, if the complaining witness alleges that the accused used one of the “date rape” drugs to facilitate the sexual assault the case becomes even more serious and enhances to aggravated sexual assault. The most common date rape drugs are: Rohypnol, commonly referred to as “Roofies;” Gamma-hydroxybutyrate, also known as GHB; and Ketamine sometimes referred to as “K.”
