The Texas Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Child or Disabled Individual law applies to cases where the prosecutors claim that a victim was younger than 14 years of age or “disabled.”
FAQs about the
Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child or Disabled Individual law in Texas
- What is the current Texas law about Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Child or Disabled Individual?
- What is the penalty for a Texas Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child or Disabled Individual offense?
- What is “sexual abuse”?
- Who can be charged with Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Child or Disabled Individual?
- Who qualifies as a “child” under the law?
- What are the possible defenses available to an accused person?
- How long will I have to register as a sex offender if I am convicted of this offense?
- Who is considered a “disabled person” under the law?
- What is the statute of limitations for Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child or Disabled Individual in Texas?
- Can you get probation for Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child or Disabled Individual in Texas?
- Do I have to register as a sex offender in Texas if guilty of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child or Disabled Individual?
- What level of crime is Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child or Disabled Individual in Texas?
In order for the law to apply, you must be at least 17 years old at the time of the offense. Also, the prosecutors must allege that you committed two or more acts of sexual abuse during a period lasting 30 days or more. Because the offense requires a pattern of sexual abuse, it carries a higher punishment than any of the single sex crimes on which it is based.
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Based on his experience defending and trying these cases, Texas criminal defense attorney Paul Saputo considers a charge of Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Child or Disabled Individual one of the most severe criminal charges a person can face in Texas, second only to Capital Murder. Pause and consider the gravity of that statement. Aside from the death penalty, Saputo considers this to be the harshest criminal charge in Texas. That’s not just because of the mandatory minimum 25 years of prison, but also because of the difficulty of fighting these cases and the ease with which anyone can be accused. As Saputo explains, many of the rules in the legal system are bent to the point of breaking against defendants here. For example, jurors do not even have to agree on which specific acts of sexual abuse the defendant committed or the exact dates on which they occurred. At the same time, an accusation can result in a prosecution with very little corroborating evidence, and a jury can convict based largely on testimonial evidence. The state often has very little evidence at all, and it usually does not take much evidence for the state to get a conviction. These are extremely challenging defense cases, and it is an area of practice that demands particular expertise.
The offense itself is relatively new in the Texas Penal Code. Originally called Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Child or Children, it is now called Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Child or Disabled Individual, and it was created as part of a set of laws called “Jessica’s Law,” in 2007 by the Texas Legislature. At the time, the Texas Legislature was examining Texas criminal sex offenses in response to a nationwide call for tougher sex offender laws throughout the United States. Prior to 2007, there was no law that specifically punished a pattern of engaging in multiple child sex offenses.
The Texas Legislature codified this criminal offense in Texas Penal Code Section 21.02. The law was not amended in 2025. The law was most recently amended in 2021 by expanding this law to include disabled individuals (in addition to children).
The Penal Code classifies the Texas Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child or Disabled Individual law under Title 5 “Offenses Against the Person,” Chapter 21 “Sexual Offenses.” Learn more about the Texas offense of Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Child or Disabled Individual below.
What is the current Texas law about Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Child or Disabled Individual?
Texas Penal Code §21.02 currently defines Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Child or Disabled Individual as follows:[1]
(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) a child younger than 14 years of age, regardless of whether the actor knows the age of the victim at the time of the offense; or
(B) a disabled individual.
Amendments effective in 2021
The Legislature expanded the applicability of the Continuous Sexual Abuse law to disabled individuals in 2021 and amended the name of the statute to reflect this.[2]
Amendments effective in 2017
Subsection (b)(2) was amended in 2017 to clarify that it does not matter whether you know the age of the accuser at the time of the offense.[3] Therefore, even if the alleged victim presented a valid government-issued identification card indicating that the person was an adult, appeared much older than 14, was encountered in an adult setting such as a bar, or was married, lack of knowledge about the alleged victim’s actual age does not prevent a conviction under the child-victim provision of §21.02.
Other important points about the law
Texas law also gives prosecutors unusually broad authority to introduce evidence of other alleged sexual offenses in a prosecution for Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Child or Disabled Individual. Article 38.37 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure creates special evidentiary rules for prosecutions under §21.02 and certain other sexual offenses.
As Texas criminal defense attorney Paul Saputo explains, these rules can make defending a §21.02 case substantially more difficult than defending many other criminal charges. In an ordinary criminal case, prosecutors generally face significant restrictions on using allegations of unrelated misconduct simply to argue that the defendant has a bad character or acted consistently with that character. Article 38.37 creates an important exception in qualifying sexual-offense cases and can allow prosecutors to introduce evidence of other alleged sexual offenses or acts even when those allegations are not the conduct charged in the indictment.
That means a defendant may have to defend not only against the allegations forming the charged offense, but also against separate accusations that the state offers to influence how the jury evaluates the defendant and the charged conduct. In Saputo’s analysis, this is one of the statutory rules that makes these cases especially difficult to defend: the prosecution may be permitted to broaden the trial beyond the specific allegations that produced the indictment.
The jury does not have to agree unanimously on the specific acts of sexual abuse or the exact dates on which the abuse occurred.[4] The jurors only have to agree unanimously that two or more acts of sexual abuse were committed by the defendant during a period that is 30 or more days in duration. As Texas criminal defense attorney Paul Saputo explains, this rule substantially changes what prosecutors ordinarily must accomplish to obtain a unanimous criminal conviction: all twelve jurors can vote to convict even though they do not all agree on which particular acts of sexual abuse the defendant actually committed. The state’s attorney also does not need to prove that all sexual abuse acts were committed against the same victim.[5]
For example, a person has committed Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child by committing Indecency with a Child against Jane Doe (age 8) on March 2, 2025 and by committing Sexual Assault against John Doe (age 13) on May 2, 2025. However, if a person commits Sexual Assault against Jane Doe on March 1 and commits Sexual Assault against John Doe on March 29, the requirement that the acts occur during a period that is 30 or more days in duration has not been met. The person may still be convicted of two separate instances of Sexual Assault.
What is the penalty for a Texas Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child or Disabled Individual offense?
This offense is a first degree felony, but it carries a special punishment range of 25 to 99 years or life in prison, along with a possible fine of up to $10,000.[6] Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Child or Disabled Individual therefore carries a much higher minimum prison term than an ordinary first degree felony. In addition, a person convicted under §21.02 is not eligible for parole.[7]
What is “sexual abuse”?
As described above, the Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Child or Disabled Individual offense requires multiple acts of “sexual abuse.” A person who has committed one of the following offenses has committed an act of sexual abuse for purposes of committing this offense:[8]
- Aggravated Kidnapping with the intent to violate or abuse the victim sexually (PC §20.04(a)(4))
- Indecency with a Child (by contact with genitals or anus but not breast) (PC §21.11(a)(1))
- Sexual Assault (PC §22.011)
- Aggravated Sexual Assault (PC §22.021)
- Burglary of a Habitation with the intent to violate or abuse the victim sexually (§30.02(d))
- Sexual Performance by a Child (PC §43.25)
- Trafficking of Persons (PC §20A.02(a)(3),(4),(7) or (8))
- Compelling Prostitution (PC §43.05(a)(2))
However, the prosecuting attorneys are not supposed to charge a person with one of the offenses listed above and Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child for the same victim unless (1) the person is charged in the alternative, (2) the offense occurred during less than a 30-day period, or (3) it is found to be a lesser-included offense.[9] A person who has committed multiple counts of sexual assault against a single child victim is only supposed to be charged with a single count of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child.[10]
Who can be charged with Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Child or Disabled Individual?
A person must be at least 17 years old at the time of each alleged act of sexual abuse to be charged under this statute.[11] For the child-victim theory, the alleged victim must have been younger than 14 years old when each alleged act occurred. For example, if John Doe (17 years old) commits sexual assault against Jane Doe (13 years old) on March 1, 2015 and again on April 1, 2015, John Doe has committed Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child. However, if John Doe (17 years old) commits sexual assault against Jane Doe (15 years old) on the same two dates, John Doe has not committed Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child, although he could still be prosecuted by the state’s attorneys under other sex crimes laws. Additionally, a 17 year old in this circumstance may have an affirmative defense, as described in more detail below.
The statute also separately applies when the alleged victim qualifies as a disabled individual under the statutory definition.
Who qualifies as a “child” under the law?
As Texas criminal defense attorney Paul Saputo explains, the statute defines a "child" by incorporating the definition in Texas Penal Code §22.011(c), which defines a child as a person younger than 17 years of age.[12] However, that general definition does not mean this offense applies to every alleged victim younger than 17. For the child-victim portion of Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Child or Disabled Individual, §21.02(b)(2)(A) specifically requires the victim to have been younger than 14 years of age when each alleged act of sexual abuse occurred.[13] Therefore, the child-victim theory of this particular offense does not apply when the alleged victim was 14 years old or older at the time of the alleged acts.
What are the possible defenses available to an accused person?
There is an affirmative defense available called the “Romeo and Juliet” defense. This defense would protect two younger people who are close in age, such as a 17-year-old senior in high school and a 13-year-old freshman in high school. This defense only applies if “the actor is not more than five years older than the victim, the actor did not use duress, force, or a threat, and the actor is not a registered sex offender.”[14]
However, as Texas criminal defense attorney Paul Saputo explains, defending a §21.02 charge often requires attacking several different components of the state’s theory rather than relying on a single affirmative defense. The prosecution must still prove the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt, and a defense can challenge whether the alleged conduct occurred, whether the witnesses are credible, whether the alleged acts qualify as statutory acts of sexual abuse, whether the state has proved multiple acts, whether the acts occurred over a period lasting 30 days or more, and whether the age or disability requirements of the statute have been satisfied.
Credibility can become particularly important in these cases because the allegations frequently concern conduct that supposedly occurred in private, sometimes years before anyone made a report. As Saputo explains, the defense may therefore need to examine inconsistencies between different accounts, changes in the allegations over time, statements made before the criminal investigation began, motives affecting a witness’s testimony, electronic communications, medical or forensic evidence, timelines, location evidence, and any other evidence that tends to corroborate or contradict the accusations.
The 30-day requirement can also provide an important issue for the defense. The state must prove that the alleged acts occurred during a period that is 30 or more days in duration. Therefore, even if the state can prove more than one qualifying act, the prosecution has not established this particular offense unless the evidence also proves the required duration.
The statutory definition of “sexual abuse” creates another potential area of dispute. Not every allegation of sexual misconduct automatically constitutes an act of sexual abuse for purposes of §21.02. The alleged conduct must fall within one of the offenses or forms of conduct specifically identified by the statute. Accordingly, the defense can challenge whether the conduct alleged by the state actually satisfies the elements of one of those qualifying offenses.
Finally, the defense can challenge whether the alleged victim falls within the category covered by the prosecution’s theory. For a child-victim prosecution, the state must establish that the alleged victim was younger than 14 years old at the time of each alleged act. For a prosecution involving a disabled individual, the state must establish that the alleged victim met the statutory definition of a disabled individual. As Saputo explains, these are not merely labels that replace proof; they are factual components of the state’s case that may be contested at trial.
How long will I have to register as a sex offender if I am convicted of this offense?
If you are convicted of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child or Disabled Individual Texas law requires you to register for life unless special circumstances apply.[15] As Texas criminal defense attorney Paul Saputo explains, although the registration statutes contain technical exceptions and possible early-termination procedures, a person facing a §21.02 conviction should ordinarily expect lifetime registration.
Who is considered a “disabled person” under the law?
The law defines “disabled individual” as “a person older than 13 years of age who by reason of age or physical or mental disease, defect, or injury is substantially unable to protect the person’s self from harm or to provide food, shelter, or medical care for the person’s self.”[16]
There are no limitations on who prosecutors and police can deem are “disabled.” Accordingly, whether someone meets this definition is ultimately up to a jury. One prosecutor might argue that people who are depressed are substantially unable to protect themselves from harm, while another prosecutor might argue that someone who has chronic obesity is disabled because they can’t provide food for themselves without the assistance of family. Prosecutors can simply state that a person is disabled and argue their case to a jury.
What is the statute of limitations for Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child or Disabled Individual in Texas?
Continuous Sexual Abuse has no limitations period under Texas law.[17]
Can you get probation for Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child or Disabled Individual in Texas?
Although there is no explicit limitation on a judge’s or jury’s ability to recommend probation for Continuous Sexual Abuse cases[18], Texas law sharply restricts community supervision for Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Child or Disabled Individual. Texas law prohibits judges from granting deferred adjudication on these cases.[19] Neither judges nor juries may recommend community supervision when the imposed term of imprisonment exceeds 10 years. Therefore, because this offense carries a minimum prison term of 25 years, a conviction for this offense is not eligible for ordinary community supervision.[20]
Do I have to register as a sex offender in Texas if guilty of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child or Disabled Individual?
Any Texas Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child or Disabled Individual conviction or adjudication requires registration as a sex offender.[21]
What level of crime is Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child or Disabled Individual in Texas?
The Penal Code classifies the punishment for Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child or Disabled Individual as a first degree felony with a minimum 25 year prison sentence.
Learn more about the penalty range for this offense in the section above.
Legal References compiled by attorney Paul Saputo:
(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, regardless of whether the actor knows the age of the victim at the time of the offense.
^4. Texas Penal Code §21.02(d)^5. Texas Penal Code §21.02(b)(1)^6. Texas Penal Code §21.02(h) and Texas Penal Code §12.32^7. Texas Government Code §508.145(a)^8. Texas Penal Code §21.02(c)^9. Texas Penal Code §21.02(e)^10. Texas Penal Code §21.02(f)^11. Texas Penal Code §21.02(b)(2)^12. Texas Penal Code §21.02(a)(1), incorporating the definition of "child" under Texas Penal Code §22.011(c):
(c) In this section: (1) “Child” means a person younger than 17 years of age.
^13. Texas Penal Code §21.02(b)(2)(A); also see Schunior v. Texas^14. Texas Penal Code §21.02(g)^15. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure §62.101(a)(1) requires lifetime registration for all “sexually violent offenses,” a term that is described at § 62.001(6)(A) to include Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child. §62.101(a)(1) has three big exceptions that apply to all lifetime registration requirements: “Except as provided by Subsection (b) and Subchapter I” and for an “adjudication of delinquent conduct.” Subsection (b) refers to discretionary transfers to criminal court from juvenile court proceedings, and Subchapter I refers to early termination procedures. Because you have to be 17 years old at the time of offense to be convicted of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child, these cases won’t be in juvenile court (see Texas Family Code §51.02(2)), and there won’t be an adjudication of delinquent conduct for the same reason. It is, however, technically possible for you to be eligible for early termination, but it is a relatively narrow situation.^16. Texas Penal Code §21.02(a)(2), cross-referencing Texas Penal Code §22.021(b)^17. Code of Criminal Procedure 12.01(1)(D)^18. See Art. 42A.056, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure and Art. 42A.054, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure^19. Art. 42A.102(b)(3)(A), Texas Code of Criminal Procedure^20. See Art. 42A.053(c), Texas Code of Criminal Procedure and Art. 42A.056(1), Texas Code of Criminal Procedure^21. Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 62.001(5)(A)
