A 2007 TEXAS LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY

The 80th Texas Legislative Session, as other legislators across the United
States, was preoccupied with sex offenses and sex offenders. This is hardly
surprising given the intense media attention to these types of cases and the
public outrage against sex crimes. So, rather than focus on a myriad or
other issues that would bring real change to the lives of our citizens and
purposeful change to our system of criminal justice, our legislature took the
easy way out and focused, again, on an easy target.

The Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New

Hampshire reported in 2006 that 60,000 to 70,000 arrests are made each year
in sex crimes against children. USA TODAY reported that same year that
the number of sexual assaults against children ages 12 to 17 decreased by 79
percent in the decade between 1993 and 2003. Relying upon government
figures, the newspaper added that sexual abuse against children of all ages
declined by 39 percent during that same period.

These government figures also showed that the vast majority of sex
offenders are male and their victims female. While these offenders enjoy a
lower recidivism rate than other former inmates (40 percent recidivism rate),
the ones who are rearrested (20 percent recidivism rate) are generally
arrested for another sex crime.

There are approximately 551,000 sex offenders registered in the United

States and about 100,000 of them are missing, according to the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The following is a synopsis of the sex offense legislation produced by Texas

lawmakers.

HB 8: DEATH PENALTY FOR 2ND AGGRAVATED SEXUAL

ASSAULT

Art. 37.072. PROCEDURE IN REPEAT SEX OFFENDER CAPITAL

CASE

Sec. 1. If a defendant is found guilty in a capital felony case

punishable under Section12.42(c)(3), Penal Code, in which the state
 does not seek the death penalty, the judge shall sentence the defendant
to life imprisonment without parole. ***
(3) Notwithstanding Subdivision (1) or (2), a defendant shall be
punished for a capital felony if it is shown on the trial of an offense
under Section 22.021 otherwise punishable under Subsection (f) of
that section that the defendant has previously been finally convicted
of:
(A) an offense under Section 22.021 that was committed
against a victim described by Section 22.021(f)(1) or was
committed against a victim described by Section 22.021(f)(2)
and in a manner described by Section 22.021(a)(2)(A); or
(B) an offense that was committed under the laws of another
state that:
(i) contains elements that are substantially similar to the
elements of an offense under Section 22.021; and
(ii) was committed against a victim described by Section
22.021(f)(1) or was committed against a victim described
by Section 22.021(f)(2) and in a manner substantially
similar to a manner described by Section 22.021(a)(2)
(A).
(4) Notwithstanding Subdivision (1) or (2), a defendant shall be
punished by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice for life without parole if it is shown on the trial of an offense
under Section 21.02 that the defendant has previously been finally
convicted of:
(A) an offense under Section 21.02; or
(B) an offense that was committed under the laws of another
state and that contains elements that are substantially similar
to the elements of an offense under Section 21.02.

The Louisiana Supreme Court in May of this year upheld a similar law
enacted in that state allowing the death penalty for the rape of a child 12
years of age or younger. See, State v. Kennedy, 957 So.2d 757, 2005-1981
(La.5/22/07). The defendant in Kennedy was indicted for the aggravated
rape of his eight-year-old stepdaughter in violation of La.R.S. 14:42. The
Louisiana Supreme Court discussed the history of this death penalty issue:

Before 1977, aggravated rape was punishable by death in Louisiana.

In 1976, the United States Supreme Court invalidated the death-
penalty provision of Louisiana's aggravated-rape statute based on the
 notion that the imposition and carrying out of the death penalty for
that crime constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the
Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. Selman v. Louisiana, 428 U.S.
906, 96 S.Ct. 32l4, 49 L.Ed.2d 1212 (l976). In 1977, the Court held
that capital punishment for the rape of an adult woman violated the
Eighth Amendment. Coker, supra. The Louisiana Legislature again
capitalized the crime of aggravated rape in 1995, but restricted it to
the aggravated rape of a child under the age of 12 years, and provided
for the punishment of "death or life imprisonment at hard labor
without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, in
accordance with the determination of the jury. .." Id., at 780.

See also: Coker v. Georgia, 433 U.S. 584, 97 S.Ct. 2861, 52 L.Ed.2d 982
(1977).

The Louisiana Supreme Court distinguished Kennedy from Coker by

pointing that the U.S. Supreme Court in Coker repeatedly stated that its
ruling applied only to the rape of an adult female. Id. The conservative bent
of the Supreme Court today offers encouragement to states like Texas and
Louisiana that the court will strictly interpret Coker to apply only to the rape
of adult females and not for the rape of a child, upholding the death penalty
in those cases.

HB 8: NEW PUNISHMENT RANGE FOR SUPER AGGRAVATED

SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD

Section 22.021: PENAL CODE IS AMENDED BY ADDING

SUBSECTION (f) TO READ AS FOLLOWS:

(f) The minimum term of imprisonment for an offense under this

section is increased to 25 years if:
(1) the victim of the offense is younger than six years of age at
the time the offense is committed; or
(2) the victim of the offense is younger than 14 years of age at
the time the offense is committed and the actor commits the
offense in a manner described by Subsection (a)(2)(A) [causes
serious bodily injury or attempt to cause death of the victim or
another person in the course of the same criminal episode; place
victim in fear or threatens death, kidnapping or serious bodily
 injury; uses a deadly weapon; uses rohypnol in commission of
the offense]

The United State Department of Justice, through its Office of Juvenile and
Delinquency Prevention, reported a 40% decline in sexual offenses against
children between 1992 and 2000. During that same period, there was a 56%
decline in victim-reported offenses against children.

There are nearly 9,000 sex offenders who committed crimes against children
in the Texas prison system. They will serve longer sentences than offenders
convicted of non-sex offenses. The U.S. Justice Department reports that
these sex offenders will have a 15% recidivism rate while other offenders
will have a 43% recidivism rate.

Running against the grain of lower offense/recidivism rates involving sex

offenders, the Texas legislature opted to increase criminal penalties. This
legislation will contribute significantly to inmate overcrowding in a system
that can barely keep pace with current incarceration rates. It will impose
pressure on the decision-makers at the back end of the system –
pardon/parole board members and prison officials – to release other, less-
than-suitable candidates for release, and some of these offenders (who are
part of that higher 43% recidivism rate category) will commit violent crimes
involving serious damage to, or loss of, human life.

HB 8: NEW OFFENSE: CONTINOUS SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A

CHILD

Sec. 21.02. CONTINUOUS SEXUAL ABUSE OF YOUNG CHILD OR

CHILDREN.

(a) In this section, "child" has the meaning assigned by Section

22.011(c).
(b) A person commits an offense if:
(1) during a period that is 30 or more days in duration, the
person commits two or more acts of sexual abuse, regardless of
whether the acts of sexual abuse are committed against one or
more victims; and
(2) at the time of the commission of each of the acts of sexual
abuse, the actor is 17 years of age or older and the victim is a
child younger than 14 years of age.
(c) For purposes of this section, "act of sexual abuse" means any act
that is a violation of one or more of the following penal laws:
(1) aggravated kidnapping under Section 20.04(a)(4), if the
actor committed the offense with the intent to violate or abuse
the victim sexually;
(2) indecency with a child under Section 21.11(a)(1), if the
actor committed the offense in a manner other than by touching,
including touching through clothing, the breast of a child;
(3) sexual assault under Section 22.011;
(4) aggravated sexual assault under Section 22.021;
(5) burglary under Section 30.02, if the offense is punishable
under Subsection (d) of that section and the actor committed the
offense with the intent to commit an offense listed in
Subdivisions (1)-(4); and
(6) sexual performance by a child under Section 43.25.
(d) If a jury is the trier of fact, members of the jury are not required to
agree unanimously on which specific acts of sexual abuse were
committed by the defendant or the exact date when those acts were
committed. The jury must agree unanimously that the defendant,
during a period that is 30 or more days in duration, committed two or
more acts of sexual abuse.
(e) A defendant may not be convicted in the same criminal action of
an offense listed under Subsection (c) the victim of which is the same
victim as a victim of the offense alleged under Subsection (b) unless
the offense listed in Subsection (c):
(1) is charged in the alternative;
(2) occurred outside the period in which the offense alleged
under Subsection(b) was committed; or
(3) is considered by the trier of fact to be a lesser included
offense of the offense alleged under Subsection (b).
(f) A defendant may not be charged with more than one count under
Subsection (b) if all of the specific acts of sexual abuse that are
alleged to have been committed are alleged to have been committed
against a single victim.
(g) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that
the actor:
(1) was not more than five years older than:
(A) the victim of the offense, if the offense is alleged to
havebeen committed against only one victim; or
 (B) the youngest victim of the offense, if the offense is
allegedto have been committed against more than one
victim;
(2) did not use duress, force, or a threat against a victim at the
time of the commission of any of the acts of sexual abuse
alleged as an element of the offense; and
(3) at the time of the commission of any of the acts of sexual
abuse alleged as an element of the offense:
(A) was not required under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal
Procedure, to register for life as a sex offender; or
(B) was not a person who under Chapter 62 had a
reportable
conviction or adjudication for an offense under this
section or
an act of sexual abuse as described by Subsection ©.
(h) An offense under this section is a felony of the first degree,
punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice for life, or for any term of not more than 99 years or less than
25 years.

The Supreme Court of Hawaii found this statute to be unconstitutional. State

of Hawaii v. Arceo, 928 P.2d 843 (1996). California and New York have
had similar laws on the books for a few years. Texas is taking these laws a
step farther: opting for a very small window of time (30 days versus 90) and
a substantially higher degree of punishment in an attempt to address the
problem of a family member who molests a child undetected for an extended
period of time.

Offenders who continuously sexually assault a child are generally immediate

family members, close relatives, or family acquaintances. A cursory review
of the court records in all Texas counties will reveal that these are the cases
in which prosecutors are more apt to plea bargain. Increased penalties for
these kinds of sex offenses are not going to either reduce or deter family-
oriented sexual assaults. The face of the child predators are the “strangers”
who kidnap, rape, and often kill children – not a father sexually abusing his
daughter or an uncle abusing his niece. Family-oriented sexual assaults are
plea bargain cases – and if the Legislature wants to correct this situation, it
should impose sanctions on the prosecutors who engage in plea bargaining
in these cases.
SB 75: AUTOMATIC LIFE FOR SECOND INDECENCY

SECTION 12:42(2)(c) IS AMENDED SO THAT THE SECOND

OFFENSE OF INDECE NCY WITH A CHILD BY CONTACT IS
PUNISHABLE BY AUTOMATIC LIFE IN PRISON

This means that there are now three automatic life 2nd offenses:
If the defendant is on trial for:
• aggravated sexual assault
• sexual assault
• indecency with a child by contact.
And the defendant has a prior conviction for:
• Sexual performance of a child
• Possession of child pornography
• Obscenity [using child or image appearing to be a
child under 18]
• Indecency with a child (contact or exposure)
• Sexual assault
• Aggravated sexual assault
• Prohibited sexual conduct
• Aggravated kidnapping with intent to abuse the
victim sexually
• Burglary with intent to commit sexual assault or
indecency with a child
• Any out-of-state conviction with substantially
similar elements of the
• above
Automatic life in prison [35 years flat time before eligible for parole]

Prior to its amendment, an offender convicted under Tex. Penal Code Art.
21.11, indecency with a child by contact, could be sentenced from 2 to 20
years in prison pursuant to Tex. Penal Code art. 12.33. Had stiffer sentences
been imposed on those committing these offenses under the § 21,11, there
would be no objective penological need for a life sentence for any second
offense.

HB 8: NO PROBATION FOR CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN

UNDER AGE 14
SECTION 4(d), ARTICLE 42.12, CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE,
IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:

(d) A defendant is not eligible for community supervision under this

section if the defendant:
(5) is convicted of an offense listed in Section 3g(a)(1)(C), (E),
or (H), if the victim of the offense was younger than 14 years of
age at the time the offense was committed;
(6) is convicted of an offense listed in Section 3g(a)(1)(D), if
the victim of the offense was younger than 14 years of age at
the time the offense was committed and the actor committed the
offense with the intent to violate or abuse the victim sexually;
or
(7) is convicted of an offense listed in Section 3g(a)(1)(I).

HB 8: NO DEFERRED ADJUDICATION FOR CONTINUOUS

SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD OR AGGRAVATED SEXUAL
ASSAULT

SECTION 5(d), ARTICLE 42.12, CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE,

IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:

(d) In all other cases the judge may grant deferred adjudication unless
the defendant is charged with an offense under Section 21.02, Penal
Code [Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Child or Children] or
Section 22.021 [“Super” Aggravated Assault against children].

HB 8: NO PAROLE FOR CONTINUOUS SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A

CHILD OR AGGRAVATED SEXUAL ASSAULT

SECTIONS 508.145 (a) AND (d), GOVERNMENT CODE, ARE

AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:

(a) An inmate under sentence of death, [or] serving a sentence of life

imprisonment without parole, serving a sentence for an offense under
Section 21.02, Penal Code, or serving a sentence for an offense under
Section 22.021, Penal Code, that is punishable under Subsection (f) of
that section is not eligible for release on parole.
HB 8: SEXUAL PERFORMANCE BY A CHILD IS NOW A 3(g)
OFFENSE AND BUMPS TO A FIRST DEGREE FELONY IF THE
CHILD IS YOUNGER THAN 14 YEARS OF AGE

SECTION 3g(a), ARTICLE 42.12, CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE,

IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:

(a) The provisions of Section 3 of this article do not apply:

(1) to a defendant adjudged guilty of an offense under:
(I) Section 43.25, Penal Code (Sexual performance by a
child);

SECTION 43.25(c) AND (e), PENAL CODE, ARE AMENDED TO READ

AS FOLLOWS:

(c) An offense under Subsection (b) is a felony of the second degree,

except that the offense is a felony of the first degree if the victim is
younger than 14 years of age at the time the offense is committed.
(e) An offense under Subsection (d) is a felony of the third degree,
except that the offense is a felony of the second degree if the victim is
younger than 14 years of age at the time the offense is committed.

HB 8: HINDERING APPREHENSION INCLUDE S APERSON WHO

HAS FAILED TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER

SECTION 38.05, PENAL CODE. IS AMENDED BY AMENDING

SUBSECTION (c) AND ADDING SUBSECTION (d) TO READ AS
FOLLOWS:

(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), an [An] offense under this

section is a Class A misdemeanor.
(d) An [, except that the] offense under this section is a felony of the
third degree if the person who is harbored, concealed, provided with a
means of avoiding arrest or effecting escape, or warned of discovery
or apprehension is under arrest for, charged with, or convicted of a
felony, including an offense under Section 62.102, Code of Criminal
Procedure, or is in custody or detention for, is alleged in a petition to
have engaged in, or has been adjudicated as having engaged in
delinquent conduct that violates a penal law of the grade of felony,
including an offense under Section 62.102, Code of Criminal
 Procedure, and the person charged under this section knew that the
person they harbored, concealed, provided with a means of avoiding
arrest or effecting escape, or warned of discovery or apprehension is
under arrest for, charged with, or convicted of a felony, or is in
custody or detention for, is alleged in a petition to have engaged in, or
has been adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent conduct that
violates a penal law of the grade of felony.

SB 6: SOLICITING MINORS

Increases penalty from online solicitation of a minor from SJF to 3rd

degree felony, and if minor is younger than 14, which is a 2nd degree
felony. All offenses involving soliciting a minor to a meeting are now
2nd degree felonies. The punishment for these offenses can now run
consecutively under Penal Code Section 3.03.

HB 8: SEXUAL VIOLENT PREDATOR COMMITMENT

REQUIREMENTS INCLUJDE GPS TRACKING

SECTION 941.082, HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE, IS AMENDED BY

ADDING SUBSECTION(b) TO READ AS FOLLOWS:

(b) A tracking service to which a person is required to submit under

Subsection (a)(5) must:
(1) track the person's location in real time;
(2) be able to provide a real-time report of the person's location
to the case manager at the case manager's request; and
(3) periodically provide a cumulative report of the person's
location to the case manager.

With more than one in five of the registered sex offenders in this country
missing, the Texas Legislature obviously feels compelled to use
sophisticated technology to keep track of its registered sex offenders.

HB 8: MUST COMPLETE SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT BEFORE

BEING RELEASED ON PAROLE

SEC. 499.054. SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT PROGRAM.

 (a) In this section, "sex offender treatment program" means a
comprehensive treatment program that:
(1) psychologically evaluates inmates who are serving a
sentence for an offense described by Section 12.42(c)(2), Penal
Code;
(2) addresses the motivation and psychosocial education of
inmates described by Subdivision (1); and
(3) provides relapse prevention training for inmates described
by Subdivision (1), including interruption of cognitive and
behavioral patterns that have led the inmate to commit criminal
offenses.
(b) The department shall establish a sex offender treatment program to
treat inmates who are serving sentences for offenses punishable under
Section 21.02(h) or 22.021(f), Penal Code. The department shall
require an inmate described by this subsection to participate in and
complete the sex offender treatment program before being released
from the department.
(c) The department may establish a sex offender treatment program to
treat inmates other than those inmates described by Subsection (b).

The State of Washington leads the nation with penal sex offender treatment
programs. Last year the Washington State Institute for Public Policy released
a study that reported the state’s prison treatment programs for male
offenders had no real effect at reducing recidivism rates for sex offenders. A
2005 California study drew similar conclusions concerning a hospital
program for confined sex offenders.

“There’s pretty good evidence that if you pick out the right kind of people,
who feel badly about what they’ve done, you can alter those patterns,” said
Roxanne Lieb, director of the Washington State Institute for Public Policy.
“But if you have someone who’s anti-social, who hates women or who is
sexually attracted to little kids, no one knows anything about what to do
about those three things.”

Washington maintains a 200-bed, $1.8 million-a-year program at the Twin

Rivers Unit in the Monroe Correctional Complex – and, in fact, state
officials want to establish a similar program in yet another penal facility.

“The study says what it says,” said Sally Neiland, program’s prison
supervisor. “But being here every day, seeing the men released, watching
them graduate, hearing from them, they have successful lives – they report
that wouldn’t have happened without treatment.”

The statistics in Washington are indeed impressive. 2.7% of the sex

offenders who did not receive treatment and released from prison were
convicted of a sexual felony within six years while only 1.8% of those who
received treatment were convicted of a sexual felony within six years. The
figure is even less for those offenders who wanted treatment but couldn’t get
it – 0.t6%
In the United States, Canada and other Western countries 9.9% of sex
offenders who participate in state-of-the-art treatment programs re-offend
with new sex crimes while 17.4% of those who do not receive treatment re-
offend with new sex crimes

Prison sex treatment include teaching offenders how to recognize stressors

for anger or boredom, how to develop social skills, and how to empathize
with their victims. They are also instructed about how to change their
thought and behavioral patterns. The latter is frequently accomplished with a
treatment called “arousal conditioning” – associating a foul odor like
Limburger cheese or rotting meat to a deviant sexual fantasy. Supervisors
and counselors in these programs measure success with polygraph
examinations and plethysmograph tests, the latter of which measures penile
arousal to pornographic material.

The programs also include controversial treatment therapies such as

“chemical castration” – combining anti-depressants and anti-androgens
which reduces testosterone, but the latter drug has such severe side effects
that only a few offenders try it.

“The reality is this: Nothing beats intelligence,” said Robert Packard, a

clinical forensic psychologist and past president of the Washington
Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. “We spend no money on
trying to understand how to do better – how to evaluate and treat offenders
better.”

But one Washington lawmaker is not buying treatment. “It’s no big secret
treatment doesn’t work,” said Pam Roach, a longtime advocate of decreased
funding for the state’s sex offender treatment programs. “You cannot rewire
somebody’s mind.”
HB 8: PRIORITIZATION OF CASES INVOLVING THE
PROSECUTION OF CERTAIN SEX OFFENSES

SECTION 23.101(a), GOVERNMENT CODE, IS AMENDED TO READ

AS FOLL0WS:

(a) The trial courts of this state shall regularly and frequently set
hearings and trials of pending matters, giving preference to hearings
and trials of the following:
(C) an offense under:
(i) Section 21.02 or 21.11, Penal Code;
(ii) Chapter 22, Penal Code, if the victim of the alleged
offense is younger than 17 years of age;
(iii) Section 25.02, Penal Code, if the victim of the
alleged offense is younger than 17 years of age; [or]
(iv) Section 25.06, Penal Code; or
(v) Section 43.25, Penal Code; and
(D) an offense described by Article 62.001(6)(C) or (D), Code
of Criminal Procedure;

HB 8: ATTORNEY GENERAL ASSISTANCE

CHAPTER 2, CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, IS AMENDCED BY

ADDING ATICLE 2.021 TO READ AS FOLLOWS:

Art. 2.021. DUTIES OF ATTORNEY GENERAL. The attorney

general may offer to a county or district attorney the assistance of the
attorney general's office in the prosecution of an offense described by
Article
60.051(g) the victim of which is younger than 17 years of age at the
time the offense is committed. On request of a county or district
attorney, the attorney general shall assist in the prosecution of an
offense described by Article 60.051(g) the victim of which is younger
than 17 years of age at the time the offense is committed. For
purposes of this article, assistance includes investigative, technical,
and litigation assistance of the attorney general's office.

HB 401: SOLICITATION OF A MINOR THROUGH TEXT

MESSAGES
 New legislation is necessary to address the problem of the solicitation
of minors online through the use of such technology and the use of
new technology by some teachers to further improper relationships
with their students. While it is a crime to use certain types of
technology to solicit minors and a crime for teachers to have sexual
relationships with students, limited definitions of both crimes are a
shortcoming in the current law.

H.B. 401 adds the use of text messages or other electronic message
services to the list of ways in which the offense of online solicitation
of a minor may be committed. The bill expands the offense of
improper relationship between educator and student to include online
solicitation of a minor, regardless of the age of the victim.

HB 1804: VISUAL RECORDING BROADENED

Amends Penal Code 21.15 to broaden the improper photography /

visual recording statute to include situations in which no recording
was made. The definition is also expanded and is ripe for a First
Amendment challenge because the language is very broad – you
cannot:
• photograph,
• record,
• broadcast,
• take a cellphone video, etc.
if
• it is without the other person’s consent and
• with intent to invade the privacy of the other
person
• arouse sexual desire of any person.
The signs you see posted in dressing rooms saying that ‘you are being
recorded/under surveillance’ is not sufficient to establish a person’s
consent.

HB 76: STATISTICAL DATABASE ON SEXUAL ASSAULTS

Current law requires the bureau of identification and records (bureau)

within the Department of Public Safety(DPS) to collect certain
information regarding offenses reported or known to have been
 committed in the state, including a statistical breakdown of those
offenses in which family violence was involved. However, no
statewide sexual assault data is required to be collected, and therefore,
there is a lack of statewide statistics about sexual assault.

H.B. 76 requires the bureau to collect information regarding sexual

assault and defines the specific sexual assault data that must be
collected, including information about the offender and the offender's
relationship to the victim, any weapons used, and any injuries
sustained by the victim.

SB 584: SEXUAL ASSAULT EPO’S

Current law authorizes a magistrate to issue an order for emergency

protection for a victim of family violence or stalking. A victim of
sexual assault is not eligible for such an order. However, the days
immediately following the arrest of a sexual offender are particularly
dangerous for the victim and an emergency protective order would
provide critical and immediate protection for the victim while the
victim seeks to obtain a more formal temporary ex parte or standard
protective order.

Amends Article 17.292 and authorizes a magistrate to issue an

emergency protective order for a victim of sexual assault.

HB 8: NO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR MOST SERIOUS SEX

OFFENSES; 20 YEAR STATUTE FOR MOST OTHER SEX
OFFENSES

No statute of limitations for:

(B) sexual assault under Section 22.011(a)(2), Penal Code, or
aggravated sexual assault under Section 22.021(a)(1)(B), Penal
Code;
(C) sexual assault, if during the investigation of the offense
biological matter is collected and subjected to forensic DNA
testing and the testing results show that the matter does not
match the victim or any other person whose identity is readily
ascertained;
(D) continuous sexual abuse of young child or children under
Section 21.02, Penal Code;
 (E) indecency with a child under Section 21.11, Penal Code; or
...
(5) if the investigation of the offense shows that the victim is
younger than 17 years of ageat the time the offense is
committed, 20 years from the 18th birthday of the victim of one
of the following offenses:
(A) sexual performance by a child under Section 43.25,
Penal Code;
(B) aggravated kidnapping under Section 20.04(a)(4),
Penal Code, if the defendant committed the offense with
the intent to violate or abuse the victim sexually; or
(C) burglary under Section 30.02, Penal Code, if the
offense is punishable under Subsection (d) of that section
and the defendant committed the offense with the intent
to commit an offense described by Subdivision (1)(B) or
(D)of this article or Paragraph (B) of this subdivision [ten
years from the 18thbirthday of the victim of the offense:

While the legislation mandating GPS tracking and improved sex offender
data bases and perhaps mandatory treatment programs in the prison setting
are important, the bulk of this law-and-order legislation will do very little –
if anything at all – to make Texas safer from sex offenders. Public policy on
a major crime issue cannot be shaped by responding to “politics” rather than
good common sense.

SOURCE: 2007 Legislative Summary prepared by the Texas Criminal

Defense Lawyers Association and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (August 28,
2007)[“Sex-Offender Therapy is Behind the Times”].