Sale or Purchase of a Child

From the Law Office of Alison Grinter in Dallas, Texas

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

Degree

It is a third degree felony to buy or sell a child, as if adopting him, outside of the legal method for adoption. Buying or selling a child for sexual exploitation is a second degree felony.

Statute(s)

§ 25.08. SALE OR PURCHASE OF CHILD.

(a) A person commits an offense if he:

(1) possesses a child younger than 18 years of age or has the custody, conservatorship, or guardianship of a child younger than 18 years of age, whether or not he has actual possession of the child, and he offers to accept, agrees to accept, or accepts a thing of value for the delivery of the child to another or for the possession of the child by another for purposes of adoption; or

(2) offers to give, agrees to give, or gives a thing of value to another for acquiring or maintaining the possession of a child for the purpose of adoption.

(b) It is an exception to the application of this section that the thing of value is:

(1) a fee or reimbursement paid to a child-placing agency as authorized by law;

(2) a fee paid to an attorney, social worker, mental health professional, or physician for services rendered in the usual course of legal or medical practice or in providing adoption counseling;

(3) a reimbursement of legal or medical expenses incurred by a person for the benefit of the child; or

(4) a necessary pregnancy-related expense paid by a child-placing agency for the benefit of the child's parent during the pregnancy or after the birth of the child as permitted by the minimum standards for child-placing agencies and Department of Protective and Regulatory Services rules.

(c) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree, except that the offense is a felony of the second degree if the actor commits the offense with intent to commit an offense under Section 43.25.

Added by Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 81, ch. 38, § 1, eff. March 30, 1977. Amended by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 2211, ch. 514, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1981. Renumbered from § 25.06 by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 167, § 5.01(a)(44). Renumbered from § 25.11 and amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, § 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 134, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1005, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.