Texas Penal Code 43.262 – Possession or Promotion of Lewd Visual Material Depicting Child
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(a) In this section:
(1) “Promote” and “sexual conduct” have the meanings assigned by § 43.25.
(2) “Visual material” has the meaning assigned by § 43.26.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly possesses, accesses with intent to view, or promotes visual material that:
(1) depicts the lewd exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of an unclothed, partially clothed, or clothed child who is younger than 18 years of age at the time the visual material was created;
(2) appeals to the prurient interest in sex; and
(3) has no serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Terms Used In Texas Penal Code 43.262
- Conduct: means an act or omission and its accompanying mental state. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Felony: means an offense so designated by law or punishable by death or confinement in a penitentiary. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Person: means an individual or a corporation, association, limited liability company, or other entity or organization governed by the Business Organizations Code. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(b-1) For purposes of conduct prohibited under Subsection (b), visual material to which that conduct applies includes a depiction of a child:
(1) who is recognizable as an actual person by the person’s face, likeness, or other distinguishing characteristic, such as a unique birthmark or other recognizable feature; and
(2) whose image as a child younger than 18 years of age was used in creating, adapting, or modifying the visual material, including computer-generated visual material that was created, adapted, or modified using an artificial intelligence application or other computer software.
(c) An offense under this section is a state jail felony, except that the offense is:
(1) a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the person has been previously convicted one time of an offense under this section or § 43.26; and
(2) a felony of the second degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the person has been previously convicted two or more times of an offense under this section or § 43.26.
(d) It is not a defense to prosecution under this section that the depicted child consented to the creation of the visual material.