Super aggravated sexual assault is a relatively new crime in Texas. If convicted, an individual faces life without parole if he commits aggravated sexual assault against a child under six or commits violent aggravated sexual abuse against a child under fourteen years of age after having previously served time in prison for the same offense. Any crime that is considered super aggravated sexual assault will require lifetime sex offender registration.
The crime of aggravated sexual abuse of a child occurs where a child victim is either 1) under six years of age or 2) if it is proven that violent aggravated sexual abuse occurs with a child under the age of fourteen. In these instances there is a minimum sentence of twenty-five years in prison.
The crime of ongoing sexual abuse of a child occurs when a person seventeen years of age or older sexually abuses a child that is under the age of fourteen repeatedly during a period that is thirty or more days in duration. As a practical matter, what that means is that there are two separate incidents of abuse that are identifies with at least a month time separating both incidents.
There is a minimum punishment of twenty five years in prison or a sentence of life without parole for repeat offenders. There is no possibility for probation and there is no possibility for deferred adjudication.
The most controversial aspect of the new law from a Constitutional and procedural perspective is that there is no requirement for jury unanimity on offense dates for ongoing sexual abuse of a child. Some commentators and attorneys believe that this aspect of this law is on questionable constitutional grounds because it might be argued not to require jury unanimity.
Those that support the law and believe that it is constitutional argue that the lack of agreement on the particular dates is simply a disagreement on the specific “manner and means” by which the crime is committed. They also argue that there is unanimity on whether or not the underlying offense as a whole was committed. Regardless of the legal specifics, anyone that is accused of this crime would be well served to object on this basis, although asking an appeals court to overturn such a horrible crime is far from a certainty.
As the law stands currently, the jury is not required to be unanimous on which acts of sexual abuse were committed by the defendant or to agree about the exact date when those acts were committed. However, the jury must agree unanimously that the defendant during a period that is thirty or more days did commit at least two acts of sexual abuse against a child in order to prove that ongoing sexual abuse of a child occurred.
There is an automatic life sentence for repeat offenders. If an individual is convicted of sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault or indecency with a child by contact that individual will receive an automatic life sentence if they have a prior conviction for any felony sex offense.