Sexual Assault Attorney in Dallas, Texas

Sexual assault in Texas is a second-degree felony under Penal Code § 22.011 — 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000. Aggravated sexual assault under § 22.021 is a first-degree felony (5 to 99 years or life), with a 25-year minimum for the youngest-child variants. L and L Law Group defends these cases in Dallas County from our Frisco office. Call (972) 370-5060.

Few accusations turn a life upside down as fast as a sexual assault allegation. In Dallas County, a single phone call to police can lead to a detective at your door, a protective order, a suspension at work, and a felony charge — all before anyone has weighed the other side of the story. If you or someone you love is under investigation or has been arrested for sexual assault in Dallas, you are presumed innocent, and you have rights that matter most in the earliest hours of the case. This page explains how Texas defines sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault, what the punishments actually are, how these cases move through the Dallas County courts, and where a defense begins.

L and L Law Group is a Frisco-based criminal defense firm led by two Co-Founding Partners, Reggie London and Njeri London. We are not a Dallas office — we represent clients across North Texas, and Dallas County is one of the venues where we regularly defend serious felony cases. The pages we link throughout are our statewide charge references; this page focuses on how a sexual assault or aggravated sexual assault case is handled specifically in Dallas County and what you should understand before you make any decision that cannot be undone.

How Texas defines sexual assault under § 22.011

Sexual assault is defined in Texas Penal Code § 22.011. In plain terms, the statute covers intentional or knowing sexual penetration or contact of another person without that person's consent, as well as certain sexual conduct with a child. The word doing most of the work in an adult case is “consent.” The statute lists many specific ways an act can be deemed without consent — for example, when the actor uses physical force, violence, or coercion; when the other person is unconscious or physically unable to resist; when the person cannot appraise the nature of the act because of a mental condition the actor knows about; or when consent is obtained through certain abuses of a position of authority.

For a child complainant, the analysis is different. Texas law treats a person younger than 17 as legally unable to consent to the conduct described in the statute, subject to narrow exceptions such as the “Romeo and Juliet” affirmative defense for close-in-age partners. That is why a case involving an adult and a case involving a child are, in practice, two very different fights: an adult case is usually a battle over consent and credibility, while a child case is usually a battle over whether the alleged conduct happened at all, over the reliability of a forensic interview, and over the accuracy of an outcry.

Sexual assault versus aggravated sexual assault: § 22.011 versus § 22.021

The difference between the two charges is not a matter of degree of harm in the everyday sense — it is a matter of which specific aggravating facts the State alleges. Aggravated sexual assault under § 22.021 applies when the conduct that would be sexual assault is accompanied by one or more listed aggravating circumstances. Those include: the victim is younger than 14 (or younger than 6 for the harshest penalty tier); the victim is elderly or disabled; the actor causes serious bodily injury or attempts to cause the death of the victim or another person; the actor places the victim in fear of death, serious bodily injury, or kidnapping; the actor uses or exhibits a deadly weapon; the actor acts with another in the same episode; or the actor administers certain substances to facilitate the offense.

The practical consequence is enormous. A base sexual assault is a second-degree felony. Add one aggravating fact and the same underlying conduct becomes a first-degree felony carrying the possibility of a life sentence. This is why the wording of the indictment matters so much, and why an early, careful review of exactly what the State intends to allege — and whether it can prove each aggravating element — is one of the first things a defense lawyer does.

Classification and punishment range

The numbers below come directly from the statutes. Sexual assault is punished as a second-degree felony under § 22.011(f), except in the two narrow situations that raise it to a first-degree felony. Aggravated sexual assault is a first-degree felony under § 22.021(e), with the 25-year minimum set by § 22.021(f) for the youngest-victim variants.

Two points are easy to miss. First, prior felony convictions can raise these ranges even higher under the Texas habitual-offender rules, and some sex offenses are subject to their own repeat-offender enhancements that can reach a mandatory life sentence. Second, a first-degree felony sexual offense against a young child can, under narrow circumstances, be charged capitally under a separate provision of Texas law; whether that provision is in play is a fact-specific question that must be evaluated against the exact allegation. Because these enhancement rules are unforgiving, the punishment exposure in any given case should always be confirmed against the charging instrument — not assumed from the base range.

What the State must prove

An accusation is not proof. To convict, the State must prove every element of the specific offense beyond a reasonable doubt, to a unanimous jury. In a typical adult sexual assault case under § 22.011, that means proving the identity of the actor, that a penetrative or contact act occurred as alleged, and — the usual battleground — that it happened without the complainant's consent, using one of the specific statutory theories of non-consent. In an aggravated case under § 22.021, the State must additionally prove the particular aggravating fact it pleaded, such as the victim's age or the use of a deadly weapon.

Understanding where the burden actually sits changes how a case is fought. The defense does not have to prove innocence, disprove the accusation, or offer an alternate explanation. The defense has to show that the State cannot carry its burden on at least one required element. In many Dallas sexual assault cases, that element is consent, and the fight is won or lost on credibility, timeline, communications between the parties, and the circumstances surrounding the accusation.

How a sexual assault case moves through Dallas County

Sexual assault investigations in Dallas County can begin with the Dallas Police Department or with the police department of any of the county's suburban cities — Garland, Irving, Mesquite, Richardson, Carrollton, and others. Larger agencies often have detectives assigned specifically to sex-crimes and crimes-against-children units. A common early move is a “knock and talk” or an invitation to a voluntary interview, sometimes paired with a monitored pretext call from the complainant. These are evidence-gathering techniques. Anything said can be used later, which is why the right to remain silent and to counsel is at its most valuable here.

If an arrest is made anywhere in Dallas County, the accused is booked into the Dallas County Jail at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center on North Riverfront Boulevard. A magistrate then reviews the case, sets bond, and imposes conditions. In sexual assault cases those conditions commonly include no contact with the complainant and, when a child is alleged, no unsupervised contact with minors; aggravated cases may add GPS monitoring, a curfew, and surrender of firearms.

Felony charges in Dallas County are prosecuted at the Frank Crowley Courts Building, 133 N. Riverfront Boulevard, Dallas, Texas 75207, home to the county's criminal district courts. A felony cannot go to trial until a Dallas County grand jury returns an indictment. That grand-jury stage is not a formality; it is one of the points where a defense lawyer can sometimes present information to the prosecutor that affects whether — and how — a case is charged. When a child is involved, the case usually intersects with a forensic-interview process; the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center is the county's designated child-advocacy resource, and how a child's interview and outcry were conducted becomes a central issue.

Evidence problems that decide these cases

Because so many sexual assault cases come down to consent and credibility rather than the fact of contact, the defense often lives in the details. A few recurring themes:

• The “he said, she said” core. When two adults give different accounts of the same encounter, the case is decided by which account a jury finds believable. Text messages, social-media activity, location data, and witness accounts of the hours before and after can move that needle in either direction.
• SANE exams and DNA. A Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner documents injuries and collects a kit for possible DNA testing. DNA that matches the accused typically confirms that contact occurred — but in a consent case, contact is often not disputed. What DNA usually cannot show is whether the contact was consensual. The chain of custody, the timing, and the interpretation of the findings are all open to challenge.
• The outcry and its timeline. Delays, changes in the account over time, and the circumstances under which an allegation first surfaced (for example, during a custody dispute or after a breakup) are legitimate areas of scrutiny — approached with care and never with cruelty.
• Digital forensics. Phones and accounts frequently hold the most reliable record of what the parties actually said to each other. Preserving that evidence early, before it is deleted or overwritten, can be decisive.

Defense strategies in Dallas sexual assault cases

There is no single template, because the right strategy depends on the facts and on whether the case is an adult-consent case or a child case. Common defensive approaches include:

• Pre-charge intervention. The most powerful work often happens before an indictment. Presenting exculpatory information to a detective or prosecutor, controlling a client's exposure during the investigation, and, where appropriate, addressing the grand jury can change the trajectory of a case.
• Consent. In an adult case, showing that the encounter was consensual — through communications, conduct, and context — goes to the heart of what the State must disprove.
• Attacking identity and the reliability of the accusation. Mistaken identification, motive to fabricate, inconsistencies between statements, and gaps in corroboration all bear on reasonable doubt.
• Challenging forensic and interview procedures. In child cases, the manner of the forensic interview, the influence of adults, and suggestibility are proper subjects of expert testimony.
• Suppressing improperly obtained evidence. Statements taken in violation of a client's rights, or evidence seized without proper authority, can be kept out of trial.
• Independent testing and experts. Retaining a defense DNA analyst, a forensic-interview expert, or a digital-forensics examiner ensures the State's evidence is not taken at face value.

Registration, bond, and collateral consequences

A sexual assault conviction reaches far beyond the courtroom. Convictions under § 22.011 and § 22.021 are reportable convictions under Chapter 62 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, which triggers sex-offender registration. Aggravated sexual assault generally carries a lifetime registration duty. Registration governs where a person can live, restricts contact with children, appears in public databases, and follows a person from job to job and state to state. It is frequently the consequence clients fear most, and it is a central reason to fight a charge rather than accept a fast resolution.

Beyond registration, a felony sex conviction can mean the loss of the right to possess firearms, the loss of professional and occupational licenses, immigration consequences that can include deportation for non-citizens, damage to parental rights in a family-law case, and lasting harm to employment and housing. Even the bond conditions imposed at the outset — no-contact orders, GPS monitoring, and limits on contact with one's own children — disrupt a person's life long before any trial. A defense lawyer works to modify unworkable conditions and to protect a client's family and livelihood throughout the case.

The full range of sex-offense charges we defend

Sexual assault sits within a broader family of Texas sex-offense charges. Where an allegation touches more than one statute, or where the State charges in the alternative, our related references may help:

• Sexual Assault (§ 22.011) — the statewide statute page for this charge.
• Aggravated Sexual Assault (§ 22.021) — the aggravating facts and first-degree exposure.
• Indecency with a Child — contact and exposure offenses involving a child.
• Online Solicitation of a Minor — internet and sting-based allegations.
• Indecent Exposure — the lower-level exposure offense.
• Possession of Child Pornography — image-based charges that often accompany other counts.
• Improper Relationship Between Educator and Student — school-context allegations.
• Failure to Register as a Sex Offender — registration-compliance charges.
• Sex-Offender Deregistration & Early Termination — relief from the registry where eligible.

Key legal terms

Consent

The voluntary agreement of a person with the capacity to give it. In an adult sexual assault case, the absence of consent — proven through one of the statute's specific theories — is usually the decisive element.

Aggravating circumstance

A fact listed in § 22.021 (such as the victim's young age, serious bodily injury, or use of a deadly weapon) that elevates sexual assault to aggravated sexual assault, a first-degree felony.

SANE exam

An examination by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner that documents injuries and collects a specimen kit for potential DNA analysis.

Outcry

A complainant's first statement describing the alleged offense to another person. In child cases, a designated “outcry witness” may be allowed to testify about what the child said.

Reportable conviction

A conviction that triggers sex-offender registration under Chapter 62 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault are reportable.

Indictment

A formal charge returned by a grand jury. A Texas felony, including sexual assault, generally cannot proceed to trial without one.

Frequently asked questions

References

• Tex. Penal Code § 22.011 — Sexual Assault. statutes.capitol.texas.gov
• Tex. Penal Code § 22.021 — Aggravated Sexual Assault. statutes.capitol.texas.gov
• Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Chapter 62 — Sex Offender Registration Program. statutes.capitol.texas.gov
• Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Art. 12.01 — Felony Limitations. statutes.capitol.texas.gov