Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution: Texas Penal Code §43.041

The legislature enacted the Texas Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution law in 2019. This law makes it illegal to operate a website that’s intended to promote the prostitution activities of a minimum of five people.

The law took effect on September 1, 2019. This new offense was one of the 14 recommendations of the “Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force,” a group of bureaucrats created by the legislature. The group recommended a large swath of increased penalties and complex rules for prostitution-related offenses.

The Texas legislature codified this criminal offense in Texas Penal Code Section 43.041. The law was not amended in 2023. However, the law was amended in 2021 to add Solicitation of Prostitution to the types of offenses that were covered under the prohibition in this law against online promotion.

The underlying, non-aggravated form of the offense is called Online Promotion of Prostitution. The aggravated form of the offense requires the state to prove the inolvement of five or more persons.

The Penal Code classifies the Texas Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution law under Title 9 “Offenses Against Public Order and Decency,” Chapter 43 “Public Indecency.” These “public indecency” crimes are sex crimes, but they are not of a violent or assaultive nature. Learn more about the Texas offense of Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution below.

What is the current Texas law about Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution?

Texas law currently defines the offense of Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution in Penal Code Section §43.041 as follows:^[1]

(a) A person commits an offense if the person owns, manages, or operates an interactive computer service or information content provider, or operates as an information content provider, with the intent to promote the prostitution of five or more persons or facilitate five or more persons to engage in prostitution or solicitation of prostitution.

Created by the 86th Texas Legislative Session, the Aggravated Promotion of Prostitution took effect on September 1, 2019.^[2] Learn more detailed information about the Aggravated Promotion of Prostitution offense below.

Do you have to register as a sex offender if you’re convicted of Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution?

As of the 88th legislature, the Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution offense does not appear on the list of offenses requring sex offender registration.

How can I be charged with an Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution offense in Texas?

You can be charged with Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution in Texas if the state’s attorneys believe that each of the elements of 43.041(a) as described in the section above have been met.

What is the statute of limitation for Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution in Texas?

Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution offenses have a three-year limitations period.^[3]

What is the penalty for a Texas Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution offense?

The Texas Penal Code classifies the Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution as a second degree felony, except under two circumstances.^[4] The code only classifies the offense as a first degree felony if you had been previously convicted of the this offense^[5] or the state convinces a jury that you engaged in conduct involving two or more persons younger than 18 years of age engaging in prostitution, regardless of whether you knew the age of the persons at the time of the offense.^[6]

Can you get probation for Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution in Texas?

The Texas Code of Criminal Procedure allows both judges and juries to grant probation for Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution, and judges are also allowed to accept deferred adjudication plea deals.^[7]

Note, however, that no matter the offense, neither judges nor juries may recommend community supervision for any suspended sentence of over 10 years.^[8] Also, judges may not grant community supervision after a conviction if (1) the defendant used or exhibited a deadly weapon during the commission of the felony or immediate flight thereafter and (2) the defendant used or exhibited the deadly weapon himself or was a party to the offense and knew that a deadly weapon would be used or exhibited.^[9]

Do I have to register as a sex offender in Texas if guilty of Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution?

The Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution offense does not appear on the list of offenses requiring registration under Chapter 62 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.^[10]

However, the legislature can add this offense to the list at any time. If that happens, people convicted of Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution would have to register, even if the offense did not appear on the list at the time they accepted a deferred adjudication plea (even if later dismissed), pled guilty or were founty guilty.

What level of crime is Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution in Texas?

The Texas Penal Code classifies the Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution offense as either a second degree felony or a first degree felony, depending on the circumstances.

Learn more about the penalty range for this offense in the section above.

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Legal References:

^1. Texas Penal Code §43.041. This law is current as of 2024.^2. SB 20, 86th Legislature, Sections 3.02 & 7.01^3. See Code of Criminal Procedure 12.01(9). Also see Code of Criminal Procedure 12.03(d)^4. Texas Penal Code §43.041(b)^5. Texas Penal Code §43.041(b)(1)^6. Texas Penal Code §43.041(b)(2)^7. See Chapter 42, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Art. 42A.054, Art. 42A.056, Art. 42A.102 .^8. Art. 42A.053(c), Texas Code of Criminal Procedure^9. Art. 42A.054(b), Texas Code of Criminal Procedure^10. Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 62.001