Is Sexual Coercion a Crime in Texas? I'm Attorney Jack B. Carroll. Have you been arrested? Have you been charged with a crime? When it’s all on the line, you need elite defense on your side.

In Texas, sexual coercion charges are considered a serious offense.

If you or someone you love is being faced with sexual coercion charges, it is important to seek the help of a qualified sex crimes lawyer.

Please contact our office today. We can help.

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Sexual Coercion [Texas Penal Code § 21.18] is a law that was passed in 2017 by the Texas Legislature. This law made it illegal for a suspect to “give money or threaten to harm the victim in exchange for sexual favors or ‘intimate visual material” – typically meaning naked (pornographic) images.

Sexual Coercion essentially finds the suspect placing the victim under duress, removing the victim’s ability to “reasonably consent” to their actions. Coercion can occur in a number of ways, but will always lead to the same result; the victim ends up as an unwilling participant in some form of sexual activity they didn’t want to participate in. In short, the victim consents because they feel like they must sexually submit to the suspect or something bad will either happen to them, or they will receive some sort of money or another benefit of value – essentially a bribe.

How is Sexual Coercion Defined in Texas?

The suspect intentionally threatens – by coercion or extortion – to obtain any of the following benefits from the victim:

• Intimate visual material of the victim; or
• Any sexual act which causes either party to be aroused or gratified; or

Some (but not all) of the illegal acts in which the victim is coerced or extorted by the suspect include:

• Any form of Sexual Assault [TPC § 22.011]
• Continuous Sexual Assault of a Child [TPC § 21.02]
• Indecent Exposure [TPC § 21.08]
• Voyeurism [TPC § 21.17]
• Most forms of Human Trafficking [TPC § 20A]
• Improper Relationship Between Educator and Student [TPC § 21.12]
• Invasive Visual Recording [TPC § 21.15]

But in practice, in just about any sex offense listed in the Penal Code, the victim can be coerced or extorted into participating in unwanted sexual behavior.

Common Examples of Sexual Coercion and How It’s Communicated

• The suspect gives you drugs and alcohol to “loosen up” your inhibitions.
• Your boss threatens (or implies) that you’ll be fired or won’t get the promotion you want if you don’t sleep with them.
• A rapist threatens to beat you or harm you in any way if you don’t have sex with them.
• A date (or friend) makes you feel threatened or afraid of what might happen if you say no to having sex
• A date says you “owe” them sex after spending a lot of money on you (bribery)
• An adult threatens a child that they’ll tell their parents something the child doesn’t want them to know (even if it’s a lie) to sexually assault that minor in any way.
• Before, during, or after assaulting you into sex, your husband says it’s your “duty.”

Most often, Sexual Coercion takes place face-to-face or over the telephone. But it can be communicated in other ways. One can be sexually coerced through email, social media, text, or any other type of electronic application means.

There are other examples where a third party can be convicted of this charge. For example, a man in a Texas city recently pled guilty to Sexual Coercion. He had contacted another (married) man; to let him know that he had a tape of this man having sex with a woman who was not his wife. The defendant then used it as leverage in an attempt to bribe the man into paying $20,000 to not send the tape to the man’s wife.

Another case we know of found a lawyer in another Texas city receiving 80 years in prison not long ago for coercing clients to have sex with him in exchange for legal services.

Penalties for Sexual Coercion in Texas

Sexual Coercion is a State jail felony. Suspects convicted of this crime could face a term of imprisonment ranging from 180 days to two years for a first offense.

But Texas law metes out more severe punishments to repeat Sexual Coercion offenders. Those who are previously convicted can be charged with a third-degree felony, which carries a prison sentence of two to 20 years.

Conviction of just Sexual Coercion alone does not require the perpetrator to register as a sex offender. However, if the suspect is convicted of any sex-related crimes such as Indecency with a Child or Sexual Assault, they must register.  But a conviction for Sexual Coercion alone does go on your criminal record, which can pose serious problems in many aspects of your life.

Sometimes, Sexual Coercion is the Least of a Suspect’s Worries

We’ve established that this offense is usually involved in many kinds of sex crimes. This is because the perpetrator often has to “convince” their victim to perform sexual acts, observe them, or submit to having images of them created meant to communicate overt sexual acts or sexually-suggestive situations.

So in instances where serious sex felonious are involved, such as rape, child molestation or aggravated sexual assault; the underlying charge of coercion helps prove the unwillingness of the victim to participate, or “locks-in” the proof that:

• The rapist threatened the victim with (and then) harmed the victim
• Or the child molester threatens to tell the child-victim’s parents he saw the kid steal a toy from a store
• Or the pornographer offered the underage girl $500 in cash to pose for sexually suggestive photos: or to send the victim to another city to engage in prostitution.
• Or the boss promised to give the victim the promotion that he or she wanted.

Saddled with Allegations of Sexual Coercion in Texas?

Get Solutions Today! Call Jack B. Carroll & Associates.

Jack B. Carroll, a Board Certified Texas Criminal Defense Law attorney, has provided legal defense services for individuals charged with sexual coercion and other serious criminal offense.

If you’re ready to meet with an experienced Houston sex crimes defense attorney, call Jack B. Carroll & Associates today to schedule your 100% confidential consultation. The phone number for our law office is 713-228-4607.