Improper Contact with Victim

From the Law Office of Alison Grinter in Dallas, Texas

1 Degree
2 Statute(s)
3 Caselaw
4 Collateral Consequences
5 Notes

Degree

Improper contact with victim is a class A misdemeanor unless the actor is in prison after conviction for the sex offense, in which case it is a 3rd degree felony.

Statute(s)

§ 38.111. IMPROPER CONTACT WITH VICTIM.

(a) A person commits an offense if the person, while confined in a correctional
facility after being charged with or convicted of an offense listed
in Article 62.001(5), Code of Criminal Procedure, contacts by
letter, telephone, or any other means, either directly or through a
third party, a victim of the offense or a member of the victim's
family, if:
    (1) the victim was younger than 17 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense for which the person is confined; and
    (2) the director of the correctional facility has not, before the person makes contact with the victim:
       (A) received written and dated consent to the contact from:
          (i) a parent of the victim;
          (ii) a legal guardian of the victim;
          (iii) the victim, if the victim is 17 years of age or older at the time of giving the consent; or
          (iv) a member of the victim's family who is 17 years of age or older; and
       (B) provided the person with a copy of the consent.
(b) The person confined in a correctional facility may not
give the written consent required under Subsection (a)(2)(A).
(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
section that the contact was:
   (1) indirect contact made through an attorney representing the person in custody; and
   (2) solely for the purpose of representing the person in a criminal proceeding.
(d) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor unless the actor is confined in a correctional facility after being convicted of a felony described by Subsection (a), in which event the offense is a felony of the third degree.
(e) In this section, "correctional facility" means:
    (1) any place described by Section 1.07(a)(14); or
    (2) a "secure correctional facility" or "secure detention facility" as those terms are defined by Section 51.02, Family Code.

Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1337, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.

Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1008, § 2.11, eff. September 1,
2005.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 908, § 41, eff. September
1, 2007.

Caselaw

Collateral Consequences

See Felony Conviction

Also,in pre-trial cases, it is inadvisable to make any statements to the complaining witness, especially from a secure facility because the statement is likely to be intercepted and used as evidence in the sex offense case.