Harassment Under Texas Penal Code 42.07: Penalties & Defenses

Texas Penal Code Section 42.07 makes harassment a crime when someone contacts another person by phone, text, email, or other electronic means with intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass them.¹ Most harassment offenses start as Class B misdemeanors punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine, though prior convictions, a victim under 18, or an escalation into stalking can push the exposure to a Class A misdemeanor or a third-degree felony.

What the Statute Prohibits

Section 42.07 lists several distinct kinds of conduct. Every one of them carries the same threshold requirement: the state must prove the accused acted with intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass the recipient. Courts weigh both the accused person’s purpose and the likely effect on the recipient when evaluating a charge.¹

Repeated or Anonymous Contact

One of the most commonly charged provisions targets repeated phone calls or anonymous contact made in a way likely to harass, annoy, alarm, or offend. Section 42.07(a)(7) covers the same conduct through electronic channels, including text messages, emails, and messages sent through social media or messaging apps. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld this electronic-communications subsection against constitutional challenges.²

A single unwanted message generally does not rise to criminal harassment. The statute targets patterns, and prosecutors look at the overall course of behavior rather than counting individual messages. In domestic or workplace disputes, courts examine the history between the parties to decide whether the accused was deliberately trying to cause distress or was communicating for a legitimate reason.

Threats of Bodily Harm

The statute covers threats to inflict bodily injury on someone, or to commit a felony against the person, a member of their family or household, or their property, so long as the threat is made in a manner reasonably likely to alarm the recipient.¹ The threat can travel through any medium: spoken words, text, email, or social media. No violence has to follow for the threat itself to be a crime.

Whether language qualifies depends on how a reasonable person in the recipient’s position would read it and whether the accused intended to create fear. This is a person-to-person offense, distinct from a terroristic threat charge that reaches wider audiences or public safety.

Obscene Communications

Initiating communication and making an obscene comment, request, suggestion, or proposal is a separate offense under Section 42.07.¹ Sexually explicit messages, crude or graphic language, and similar material sent through any channel can trigger the provision. Courts measure the content against community standards and the surrounding context, including whether the material was directed at a specific person.

When the recipient is a minor, exposure runs beyond Section 42.07. Penal Code Section 43.24 separately criminalizes distributing harmful material to anyone under 18 as a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.³

False Reports and Refusing to Hang Up

Two additional prohibitions round out the statute. Knowingly conveying a false report that another person has died or suffered serious bodily injury, when made in a way likely to alarm the recipient, is harassment. So is intentionally calling someone and refusing to hang up or disconnect.¹

Penalty Ladder

The punishment for harassment climbs with the accused person’s record and the identity of the victim, and it can jump entirely into felony territory when the conduct becomes stalking.

Class B misdemeanor for a base harassment offense: up to 180 days in county jail, a fine up to $2,000, or both.⁴
Class A misdemeanor when the accused has a prior harassment conviction or the offender is an adult and the victim is under 18: up to one year in county jail, a fine up to $4,000, or both.⁵
Third-degree felony when the conduct qualifies as stalking under Section 42.072: two to ten years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and a fine up to $10,000.⁶

When Harassment Becomes Stalking

Harassment that grows into a broader pattern aimed at making someone fear for their safety can be charged as stalking under Texas Penal Code Section 42.072.⁷ The prosecution must show harassing behavior directed at a specific person on more than one occasion, in a manner that would make a reasonable person feel harassed, threatened, or fearful.

This is where the exposure changes character. A first stalking offense is a third-degree felony. A prior stalking conviction, or a violation of a protective order while stalking, raises the charge to a second-degree felony. What starts as persistent texting or repeatedly showing up at someone’s workplace can become a prison-level case once the pattern is established.

Firearm Consequences

A protective order tied to harassment or family violence can strip your right to possess firearms, and many people miss this collateral effect. Texas Family Code Section 85.022 lets a judge issuing a family violence protective order prohibit the respondent from possessing firearms and requires suspension of any license to carry a handgun. Every Title 4 protective order must include a warning that possessing a firearm while subject to the order is unlawful.⁸

Federal law adds another layer. Under 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(8), a person subject to a qualifying protective order is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition nationwide, whether or not the Texas order itself addresses firearms.

Defenses to a Harassment Charge

Intent is the pressure point. The state must prove the accused acted with the specific purpose of harassing, annoying, alarming, abusing, tormenting, or embarrassing the other person. Contact with a legitimate purpose, such as resolving a child custody dispute, collecting a debt, or handling a workplace matter, may not meet that requirement even if the recipient felt distressed.

Context drives these cases. Courts consider the relationship between the parties, the content and timing of messages, and whether the accused had a reasonable basis for the contact. Five texts about a shared parenting schedule read very differently from five insulting texts at 3 a.m.

Constitutional Challenges

Defendants have argued that Section 42.07 punishes constitutionally protected speech. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected that argument in Scott v. State (2010), holding that Section 42.07(a)(4) targets conduct rather than protected expression because it requires specific intent to inflict emotional distress through repeated invasions of privacy.⁹ In 2022, the court reaffirmed that reasoning in Ex parte Barton, upholding the electronic-harassment subsection against a First Amendment challenge.² Constitutional arguments remain available, but Texas appellate courts have consistently sided with the state.

Mistaken Identity in Digital Cases

Anonymous messaging apps, spoofed phone numbers, and fake social media accounts make misidentification a live issue in digital cases. Defense strategies often center on phone records, IP address analysis, and digital forensics. If the state cannot tie the messages to the accused, the case falls apart regardless of how the messages read.

Protective Orders for Victims

Texas offers different protective orders depending on the relationship between the parties and the nature of the conduct. These orders are enforceable by law enforcement, and violating one is a separate criminal offense.

Stalking Protective Orders

Under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 7A, a victim of stalking under Section 42.072 can petition for a protective order without needing to show any particular relationship to the offender.¹⁰ A court finding a clear and present danger can issue a temporary ex parte order immediately without notifying the accused. After a full hearing, a protective order under this chapter lasts up to two years by default, though a judge can set a longer duration, including lifetime. This chapter does not cover stand-alone harassment under Section 42.07 that has not escalated to stalking.

Family Violence Protective Orders

When harassment occurs between family or household members, or between current or former dating partners, a victim can seek a protective order under Title 4 of the Family Code. The applicant cannot be charged filing fees, service fees, or court costs to obtain, modify, or transfer the order; only a person found to have committed family violence can be assessed those costs.¹¹ Once in place, the order can bar all forms of contact, including phone, electronic messages, and communication through third parties, and it triggers the firearm restrictions described above.

Time Limits and Reporting

The window to bring criminal charges depends on the offense level. Prosecutors have two years from the date of a misdemeanor harassment offense under Section 42.07 to file charges.¹² For felony stalking under Section 42.072, the general three-year felony limitation applies. Reporting promptly preserves the option for prosecution and helps keep digital evidence, call logs, and witness memories available.

Victims can file with the local police department or county sheriff’s office in person, by phone, or through an online portal. Documentation strengthens the report: saved text messages, call logs, emails, voicemails, and screenshots of social media posts. Note the names and contact information of any witnesses before filing. For online harassment, cyberstalking, or cases involving intimate images, the Texas Attorney General’s office investigates cyber-related offenses through its criminal investigations division.¹³ Reporting the conduct to the platform where it occurs can also result in account suspension and evidence preservation that helps a later law enforcement case.

1
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code PENAL 42.07 – Harassment
2
Justia Law. Ex parte Charles Barton
3
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 43.24 – Sale, Distribution, or Display of Harmful Material to Minor
4
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.22 – Class B Misdemeanor
5
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.21 – Class A Misdemeanor
6
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.34 – Third Degree Felony Punishment
7
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 42.072 – Stalking
8
State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 85 – Issuance of Protective Order
9
txcourts.gov. Ex Parte Charles Jones, No. 14-19-00248-CR
10
Justia Law. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 7A – Protective Order for Victims of Sexual Assault or Abuse, Stalking, or Trafficking
11
Texas Courts. Chapter 3 – Family Code Title 4 Protective Orders
12
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 12 – Limitation
13
Office of the Attorney General. Law Enforcement