Sexual activity between 2 minors in Texas

A 14 year old boy has been molesting (kissing, touching, but no intercourse) two 10-year old girls in Texas. What can the boy be charged with as a minor? Boy sought counseling and now the counselor is reporting the molestation to CPS. The parents of the girls reported this to the police also since their therapist suggested it.

Does the 14 year old need an attorney? What could he be charged with, worst-case-scenario?

thanks in advance.

With a few exceptions, the criminal laws of Texas apply equally to a minor as they do to an adult. The difference is in the punishment.

If he touched, even over the clothing, the breast, anus, or vagina of the younger child than this 14 yr old could be charged with indeceny with a child, a second degree felony. This would also be true if he exposed his anus or genitals or caused the other child to expose their anus or genitals.

If he penetrated the vagina with his finger than he could be charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child, a first degree felony. Note that penetration of the vagina means any penetration, however slight, of the vulva which is the outer covering of the vagina. In other words, unless the girl was clothed any actual touching of the vaginal area would probably count as penetration.

Texas uses progressive sanction levels for juveniles. If this is his first offense and he is adjudicated than he would most likely be placed in level 4 which basically means 6-24 months of probation and in this case, sex therapy. For either of the offenses I mentioned he would have to register as a sex offender for ten years after completing his probation term.

Yes, I would say that this boy needs an attorney.

Thanks very much for your quick response.

You mentioned these charges he could be charged with... What if the parents of the 2 girls do not press charges? They have already stated they just want the boy to get therapy. The only reason why they reported it is because the therapists told them they had to, by law.

Could he still be charged by the state?

Again, thanks in advance.

Yes he can still be charged, and to be honest I suspect that he will be. In my experience, if CPS is notified about conduct constituting a sexual offense, they always refer it to the police who almost always refer it to the DA's office for prosecution. The DA's office can absolutely file charges even if the victims are begging the prosecutor not to. What happens in some of these cases is that the prosecutor agrees to deferred prosecution where the charges are never filed and the juvenile does informal probation and sex therapy. If he completes it, the prosecutor declines to file charges.

The reason this juvenile needs an attorney is because there is nothing preventing law enforcement from taking a statement from this juvenile even when his parents aren't present. They can go and question him at school if he doesn't have an attorney.

Thanks again.

We are required to call CPS tomorrow to report this (or the therapist said they would) - what should we expect from this call? Do we need to have an attorney present for the call?

We have a police case # but that's it. What comes next? Do we wait for some notice from the DA telling us whether he's been charged with something?

Are you located in the Texas area?

Thank you.

The most important thing I can tell you is that your call to CPS will be recorded, so be careful what you say because it can be used against your son. (ex: if you testify it can be used to impeach you.) In my opinion, CPS calls are alot like 911 calls. You report it and they say, ok we'll respond. CPS should open a case and assign a caseworker. That worker will want to interview all family members and the alleged victims. The goal here is to just determine if the child is safe to stay in the home, which I have no doubt will be the case as long as there is nothing else going on. But then... they're gonna refer the complaint to the police. But you say you already have a police case number? That would mean that an officer has written a report and an investigation is probably underway. These investigations can take some time because the victims are usually first interviewed by a forensics interviewer (someone trained to interview children without leading them). Once the detective feels the investigation is complete on his/her end, he/she will typically call you and ask if the juvenile would like to make a statement before charges are filed. Kinda a, let me get your side of the story. This is why he needs an attorney, to decide whether to give a statement and if so, how much he wants to say. Be aware though that if he does give a statement, he will most likely be taken into custody immediately afterward. If he doesn't give a statement, charges will most likely still be filed and they will call you to have you turn himself in. If you don't, they will pick him up eventually.

There is no bonding out in the juvenile system. He will get a detention hearing when first picked up and another one at least every 10 days. The judge can detain him indefinitely if he/she believes it is necessary to get him to appear at his court date. Official charges should be filed by the DA's office within a day or two and you and the juvenile will be served with notice of the allegations and with the court date. From there its in your attorney's hands.

Yes I practice in Texas and am a former prosecutor and while in the DA's office I worked in the juvenile division for a while.