Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB500 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R351 KJE-D
2	2	By: Wu H.B. No. 500
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the prosecution of and punishment for the criminal
8	8	offense of failure to report certain sexual offenses committed
9	9	against a child; increasing criminal penalties.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 38.17, Penal Code, is amended to read as
12	12	follows:
13	13	Sec. 38.17. FAILURE TO [STOP OR] REPORT CERTAIN
14	14	[AGGRAVATED] SEXUAL OFFENSES COMMITTED AGAINST A [ASSAULT OF]
15	15	CHILD. (a) In this section, "sexual offense against a child" means
16	16	conduct that constitutes an offense under:
17	17	(1) Section 20A.02(a)(7) or (8) (Trafficking of
18	18	Persons);
19	19	(2) Section 20A.03 (Continuous Trafficking of
20	20	Persons), if the offense is based partly or wholly on conduct that
21	21	constitutes an offense under Section 20A.02(a)(7) or (8);
22	22	(3) Section 21.02 (Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young
23	23	Child or Children);
24	24	(4) Section 21.11 (Indecency with a Child);
25	25	(5) Section 22.011(a)(2) (Sexual Assault of a Child);
26	26	(6) Section 22.021(a)(1)(B) (Aggravated Sexual
27	27	Assault of a Child);
28	28	(7) Section 43.05(a)(2) (Compelling Prostitution); or
29	29	(8) Section 43.25 (Sexual Performance by a Child).
30	30	(b) A person 18 years of age or older[, other than a person
31	31	who has a relationship with a child described by Section 22.04(b),]
32	32	commits an offense if the person:
33	33	(1) knows that another person has committed a sexual
34	34	offense against a child [the actor observes the commission or
35	35	attempted commission of an offense prohibited by Section 21.02 or
36	36	22.021(a)(2)(B) under circumstances in which a reasonable person
37	37	would believe that an offense of a sexual or assaultive nature was
38	38	being committed or was about to be committed against the child]; and
39	39	(2) [the actor] fails to [assist the child or]
40	40	immediately report the commission of the offense to a [peace
41	41	officer or] law enforcement agency or to the Department of Family
42	42	and Protective Services[; and
43	43	[(3) the actor could assist the child or immediately
44	44	report the commission of the offense without placing the actor in
45	45	danger of suffering serious bodily injury or death].
46	46	(c) [(b)] An offense under this section is a state jail
47	47	felony, except that the offense is:
48	48	(1) except as provided by Subdivision (2), a felony of
49	49	the third degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
50	50	actor also engaged in conduct intended to hinder the investigation
51	51	or prosecution of the sexual offense against a child, including by:
52	52	(A) altering, destroying, or concealing any
53	53	record, document, or thing to impair its verity, legibility, or
54	54	availability as evidence in the investigation or prosecution;
55	55	(B) interfering with the willingness of a witness
56	56	to the sexual offense to report that offense to, or cooperate in the
57	57	investigation or prosecution of the offense with, a law enforcement
58	58	agency or the Department of Family and Protective Services or
59	59	otherwise preventing the report by or cooperation of the witness;
60	60	(C) harboring or concealing the person who
61	61	committed the sexual offense;
62	62	(D) providing or aiding in providing the person
63	63	who committed the sexual offense with a means to avoid
64	64	investigation or arrest, including by assisting the person in
65	65	relocating to another area; or
66	66	(E) providing false information regarding the
67	67	sexual offense to a law enforcement agency or to the Department of
68	68	Family and Protective Services; or
69	69	(2) a felony of the second degree if:
70	70	(A) the actor engaged in conduct described by
71	71	Subdivision (1);
72	72	(B) the person who committed the sexual offense
73	73	against a child commits a subsequent sexual offense against a
74	74	child; and
75	75	(C) the actor's failure to report the sexual
76	76	offense against a child enabled or facilitated the person's
77	77	commission of the subsequent offense [Class A misdemeanor].
78	78	(d) For purposes of this section, the actor is presumed to
79	79	have known that another person has committed a sexual offense
80	80	against a child if:
81	81	(1) the child tells the actor that the other person has
82	82	engaged in conduct that constitutes a sexual offense listed in
83	83	Subsection (a); or
84	84	(2) the actor engaged in conduct described by
85	85	Subsection (c)(1) with respect to the sexual offense.
86	86	(e) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
87	87	the actor complied with a duty to report the sexual offense against
88	88	a child to a law enforcement agency or to the Department of Family
89	89	and Protective Services as required by other law.
90	90	(f) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
91	91	section that the actor promptly reported the sexual offense against
92	92	a child to a professional, as defined by Section 261.101(b), Family
93	93	Code, or to a family violence center, as defined by Section 93.001,
94	94	Family Code.
95	95	(g) It is an exception to the application of this section
96	96	that:
97	97	(1) the person who the actor knows has committed the
98	98	sexual offense against a child has previously been convicted of any
99	99	of the following offenses committed against the actor:
100	100	(A) an offense listed in Article 42A.054(a), Code
101	101	of Criminal Procedure; or
102	102	(B) an offense under Section 22.01 (Assault) or
103	103	22.02 (Aggravated Assault); or
104	104	(2) at the time of the actor's act of omission
105	105	described by Subsection (b)(2) or at any time before that act
106	106	occurred, the person who the actor knows has committed the sexual
107	107	offense against a child was the subject of an order issued to
108	108	protect the actor:
109	109	(A) under Subchapter A, Chapter 7B, Code of
110	110	Criminal Procedure, Article 17.292, Code of Criminal Procedure,
111	111	Section 6.504, Family Code, Chapter 83, Family Code, Chapter 85,
112	112	Family Code, or Subchapter F, Chapter 261, Family Code; or
113	113	(B) by another jurisdiction as provided by
114	114	Chapter 88, Family Code.
115	115	(h) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this
116	116	section also constitutes an offense under another law, the actor
117	117	may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both.
118	118	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
119	119	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
120	120	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
121	121	governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
122	122	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
123	123	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
124	124	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
125	125	before that date.
126	126	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.