Violation of a Protective Order
Texas Penal Code § 25.07
(a) A person commits an offense if, in violation of a condition of bond set in a family violence, sexual assault or abuse, indecent assault, stalking, or trafficking case and related to the safety of a victim or the safety of the community, an order issued under Subchapter A, Chapter 7B7A, Code of Criminal Procedure, an order issued under Article 17.292, Code of Criminal Procedure, an order issued under Section 6.504, Family Code, Chapter 83, Family Code, if the temporary ex parte order has been served on the person, Chapter 85, Family Code, or Subchapter F, Chapter 261, Family Code, or an order issued by another jurisdiction as provided by Chapter 88, Family Code, the person knowingly or intentionally:
(1) commits family violence or an act in furtherance of an offense under Section 20A.02, 22.011, 22.012,22.021, or 42.072;
(2) communicates:
(A) directly with a protected individual or a member of the family or household in a threatening or harassing manner;
(B) a threat through any person to a protected individual or a member of the family or household; or
(C) in any manner with the protected individual or a member of the family or household except through the person's attorney or a person appointed by the court, if the violation is of an order described by this subsection and the order prohibits any communication with a protected individual or a member of the family or household;
(3) goes to or near any of the following places as specifically described in the order or condition of bond:
(A) the residence or place of employment or business of a protected individual or a member of the family or household; or
(B) any child care facility, residence, or school where a child protected by the order or condition of bond normally resides or attends;
(4) possesses a firearm;
(5) harms, threatens, or interferes with the care, custody, or control of a pet, companion animal, or assistance animal that is possessed by a person protected by the order or condition of bond; or
(6) removes, attempts to remove, or otherwise tampers with the normal functioning of a global positioning monitoring system.
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(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a)(5), possession of a pet, companion animal, or assistance animal by a person means:
(1) actual care, custody, control, or management of a pet, companion animal, or assistance animal by the person; or
(2) constructive possession of a pet, companion animal, or assistance animal owned by the person or for which the person has been the primary caregiver.
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(b) For the purposes of this section:
(1) “Family violence,” “family,” “household,” and “member of a household” have the meanings assigned by Chapter 71, Family Code.
(2) “Firearm” has the meaning assigned by Chapter 46.
(2-a) “Global positioning monitoring system” has the meaning assigned by Article 17.49, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(3) “Assistance animal” has the meaning assigned by Section 121.002, Human Resources Code.
(4) “Sexual abuse” means any act as described by Section 21.02 or 21.11.
(5) “Sexual assault” means any act as described by Section 22.011 or 22.021.
(6) “Stalking” means any conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 42.072.
(7) “Trafficking” means any conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 20A.02.
(8) “Indecent assault” means any conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 22.012.
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(c) If conduct constituting an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the actor may be prosecuted under either section or under both sections.
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(d) Reconciliatory actions or agreements made by persons affected by an order do not affect the validity of the order or the duty of a peace officer to enforce this section.
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(e) A peace officer investigating conduct that may constitute an offense under this section for a violation of an order may not arrest a person protected by that order for a violation of that order.
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(f) It is not a defense to prosecution under this section that certain information has been excluded, as provided by Section 85.007, Family Code, or Article 17.292, Code of Criminal Procedure, from an order to which this section applies.
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(g) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, except the offense is:
(1) subject to Subdivision (2), a state jail felony if it is shown at the trial of the offense that the defendant violated an order issued as a result of an application filed under Article 7A.01(a-1), Code of Criminal Procedure; or
(2) a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant:
(A) has previously been convicted two or more times of an offense under this section or two or more times of an offense under Section 25.072, or has previously been convicted of an offense under this section and an offense under Section 25.072; or
(B) has violated the order or condition of bond by committing an assault or the offense of stalking.
Texas Penal Code § 25.071
(a) A person commits an offense if, in violation of an order issued under Subchapter C, Chapter 7BArticle 6.08, Code of Criminal Procedure, the person knowingly or intentionally:
(1) commits an offense under Title 5 1 or Section 28.02, 28.03, or 28.08 and commits the offense because of bias or prejudice as described by Article 42.014, Code of Criminal Procedure;
(2) communicates:
(A) directly with a protected individual in a threatening or harassing manner;
(B) a threat through any person to a protected individual; or
(C) in any manner with the protected individual, if the order prohibits any communication with a protected individual; or
(3) goes to or near the residence or place of employment or business of a protected individual.
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(b) If conduct constituting an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the actor may be prosecuted under either section or under both sections.
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(c) A peace officer investigating conduct that may constitute an offense under this section for a violation of an order may not arrest a person protected by that order for a violation of that order.
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(d) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor unless it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant has previously been convicted under this section two or more times or has violated the protective order by committing an assault, in which event the offense is a third degree felony.
Texas Penal Code § 25.072
(a) A person commits an offense if, during a period that is 12 months or less in duration, the person two or more times engages in conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 25.07.
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(b) If the jury is the trier of fact, members of the jury must agree unanimously that the defendant, during a period that is 12 months or less in duration, two or more times engaged in conduct that constituted an offense under Section 25.07.
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(c) A defendant may not be convicted in the same criminal action of another offense an element of which is any conduct that is alleged as an element of the offense under Subsection (a) unless the other offense:
(1) is charged in the alternative;
(2) occurred outside the period in which the offense alleged under Subsection (a) was committed; or
(3) is considered by the trier of fact to be a lesser included offense of the offense alleged under Subsection (a).
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(d) A defendant may not be charged with more than one count under Subsection (a) if all of the specific conduct that is alleged to have been engaged in is alleged to have been committed in violation of a single court order or single setting of bond.
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(e) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree.