What Is the Age of Consent in Dallas, Texas?

The age of consent in Dallas, Texas is 17. Dallas follows Texas state law, which sets a single standard across every city and county, so municipal lines make no difference. Sexual activity with anyone younger than 17 can result in felony charges, years in prison, and lifetime sex offender registration, even when the younger person agreed and even when the older person believed they were of age.

What Texas Law Actually Says

Texas Penal Code Section 22.011 makes it a crime to engage in sexual activity with a “child,” defined as anyone younger than 17.¹ Once a person turns 17, Texas treats them as legally able to consent, assuming no coercion or incapacitation is involved. A conviction for sexual assault of a child is a second-degree felony, carrying 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.² The age of the younger person is enough on its own. No force, no threat, no weapon required.

The Close-in-Age Defense for Young Couples

Texas recognizes an affirmative defense sometimes called the “Romeo and Juliet” rule. It does not block an arrest or stop charges from being filed. It is something the accused has to raise and prove in court.

For indecency with a child under Section 21.11, every one of the following has to be true:

The accused was not more than three years older than the younger person.
The two were of the opposite sex.
No force, duress, or threats were used.
The accused was not already required to register as a sex offender and had no prior reportable conviction for the same offense.³

The opposite-sex requirement is a real limit written into the statute, and same-sex couples cannot use this defense under Section 21.11 as it currently reads. A similar close-in-age defense exists for sexual assault under Section 22.011, with the burden on the defendant.¹ The defense also offers no protection when the younger person is under 14, because those cases are prosecuted under the aggravated sexual assault statute.

Believing They Were Older Is Not a Defense

This catches people off guard, so it bears stating plainly. Section 22.011 says the offense applies “regardless of whether the person knows the age of the child at the time of the offense.”¹ The same language appears in the indecency statute.³

A fake ID will not help. A claim of being 18 will not help. Looking older will not help. Some states allow a “reasonable mistake of age” defense. Texas does not. Age is treated as a strict-liability element.

When the Younger Person Is Under 14

If the victim is younger than 14, the charge becomes aggravated sexual assault of a child under Section 22.021. That is a first-degree felony punishable by 5 to 99 years, or life, plus a fine of up to $10,000.⁴⁵ The minimum climbs to 25 years when the victim was under 10, or under 14 with serious bodily injury, an attempted killing, or a deadly weapon involved.

The aggravated charge can also apply when the victim is under 17 and aggravating circumstances exist: serious bodily injury, a deadly weapon, drugging the victim, or acting with another person during the same criminal episode.⁴

Indecency With a Child

Sexual contact that falls short of what the sexual assault statute covers is prosecuted separately. Under Section 21.11, indecency with a child covers touching the breast, genitals, or anus of someone younger than 17, or causing that person to touch the actor’s intimate areas, when done with intent to arouse or gratify sexual desire.³ Contact through clothing counts. Exposure of genitals or anus to a child under 17 with sexual intent, or causing the child to expose themselves, also qualifies.

Penalties split along those two lines:

Sexual contact is a second-degree felony: 2 to 20 years and up to $10,000.²
Exposure is a third-degree felony: 2 to 10 years and up to $10,000.⁶

Intent is part of the charge. Prosecutors have to prove the contact or exposure was for sexual arousal or gratification. Accidental contact is not enough.

Online Messages, Texts, and Sting Operations

Texas prosecutes online sexual communication with minors as its own offense under Section 33.021. A person 17 or older commits a crime by using the internet, text, email, or any electronic communication to send sexually explicit material to a minor, or to communicate in a sexually explicit way with a minor, when done with intent to commit a sexual offense.⁷

Soliciting a minor to meet in person for sexual activity is a second-degree felony, and the meeting does not have to actually occur for the charge to stick. Sexually explicit communications are a third-degree felony, rising to a second-degree felony if the minor is younger than 14 or if the accused believed the minor was under 14. A “minor” under this statute includes anyone the accused believes to be under 17, which is why police sting operations lead to charges even when the person on the other end is an undercover officer.⁷ The same three-year close-in-age defense is available for the solicitation-to-meet charge if the minor consented.

Sex Offender Registration

Prison is not the end of it. A conviction for sexual assault of a child, aggravated sexual assault, or indecency with a child by contact requires lifetime sex offender registration in Texas.⁸ Registrants have to report to local law enforcement in any city or county where they live or plan to live for more than seven days, within seven days of arrival.⁹

The registrant’s name, photograph, address, and offense history appear on a publicly searchable database kept by the Texas Department of Public Safety. The registration follows the person to other states and creates restrictions on where they can live and work. A single indecency-by-exposure conviction triggers 10 years of registration; a second conviction extends it to life.⁸

1
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.011 – Sexual Assault
2
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.33 – Second Degree Felony Punishment
3
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 21.11 – Indecency With a Child
4
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.021 – Aggravated Sexual Assault
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State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.32 – First Degree Felony Punishment
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State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.34 – Third Degree Felony Punishment
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State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 33.021 – Online Solicitation of a Minor
8
Texas Department of Public Safety. Texas Length of Duty to Register Compared to SORNA Minimum Requirements
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State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 62.051 – Registration