84R987 GCB-D
By: Leach H.B. No. 207
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to creating the offense of voyeurism; providing a penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 21, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Section 21.16 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.16. VOYEURISM. (a) A person commits an offense if,
with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of the actor
or to degrade or abuse any person, the actor observes another person
without the other person's consent while the other person is in a
dwelling, structure, or conveyance in which the other person has a
reasonable expectation of privacy.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c) or (d), an offense
under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor
if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the actor has
previously been convicted two or more times of an offense under this
section.
(d) An offense under this section is a state jail felony if
the victim was a child younger than 14 years of age at the time of
the offense.
(e) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this
section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor
may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both.
(f) In this section, "conveyance" includes any motor
vehicle, ship, vessel, railroad vehicle or car, trailer, aircraft,
or sleeping car.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.