Bill Text: TX HB1357 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to the prosecution of and punishment for the criminal offense of failure to report certain sexual offenses committed against a child; increasing criminal penalties.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-05-09 - Placed on General State Calendar [HB1357 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HB1357-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Relating to the prosecution of and punishment for the criminal offense of failure to report certain sexual offenses committed against a child; increasing criminal penalties.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-05-09 - Placed on General State Calendar [HB1357 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HB1357-Introduced.html
86R923 KJE-D | ||
By: Wu | H.B. No. 1357 |
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relating to the prosecution of and punishment for the criminal | ||
offense of failure to report certain sexual offenses committed | ||
against a child; increasing criminal penalties. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 38.17, Penal Code, is amended to read as | ||
follows: | ||
Sec. 38.17. FAILURE TO [ |
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CHILD. (a) In this section, "sexual offense against a child" means | ||
conduct that constitutes an offense under: | ||
(1) Section 21.02 (Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young | ||
Child or Children); | ||
(2) Section 21.11 (Indecency with a Child); | ||
(3) Section 22.011(a)(2) (Sexual Assault of a Child); | ||
or | ||
(4) Section 22.021(a)(1)(B) (Aggravated Sexual | ||
Assault of a Child). | ||
(b) A person[ |
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the person: | ||
(1) knows or has reason to believe that another person | ||
has committed a sexual offense against a child [ |
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(2) [ |
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immediately report the commission of the offense to a [ |
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and Protective Services[ |
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(c) [ |
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felony, except that the offense is: | ||
(1) except as provided by Subdivision (2), a felony of | ||
the third degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the | ||
actor also engaged in conduct intended to hinder the investigation | ||
or prosecution of the sexual offense against a child, including by: | ||
(A) altering, destroying, or concealing any | ||
record, document, or thing to impair its verity, legibility, or | ||
availability as evidence in the investigation or prosecution; | ||
(B) interfering with the willingness of a witness | ||
to the offense to report the offense to, or cooperate in the | ||
investigation or prosecution of the offense with, a law enforcement | ||
agency or the Department of Family and Protective Services or | ||
otherwise preventing the report by or cooperation of the witness; | ||
(C) harboring or concealing the person who | ||
committed the offense; | ||
(D) providing or aiding in providing the person | ||
who committed the offense with a means to avoid investigation or | ||
arrest, including by assisting the person in relocating to another | ||
area; or | ||
(E) providing false or misleading information | ||
regarding the offense to a law enforcement agency or to the | ||
Department of Family and Protective Services; or | ||
(2) a felony of the second degree if: | ||
(A) the actor engaged in conduct described by | ||
Subdivision (1); | ||
(B) the person who committed the sexual offense | ||
against a child commits a subsequent sexual offense against a | ||
child; and | ||
(C) the actor's failure to report the sexual | ||
offense against a child enabled or facilitated the person's | ||
commission of the subsequent offense [ |
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(d) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that | ||
the actor complied with a duty to report the sexual offense against | ||
a child to a law enforcement agency or to the Department of Family | ||
and Protective Services as required by other law. | ||
(e) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this | ||
section also constitutes an offense under another law, the actor | ||
may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both. | ||
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only | ||
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. | ||
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is | ||
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, | ||
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For | ||
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the | ||
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred | ||
before that date. | ||
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |