Sec. 20A.02. TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS. (a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly:

(1) traffics another person with the intent that the trafficked person engage in forced labor or services;

(2) receives a benefit from participating in a venture that involves an activity described by Subdivision (1), including by receiving labor or services the person knows are forced labor or services;

(3) traffics another person and, through force, fraud, or coercion, causes the trafficked person to engage in conduct prohibited by:

(A) Section 43.02 (Prostitution);

(B) Section 43.03 (Promotion of Prostitution);

(B-1) Section 43.031 (Online Promotion of Prostitution);

(C) Section 43.04 (Aggravated Promotion of Prostitution);

(C-1) Section 43.041 (Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution); or

(D) Section 43.05 (Compelling Prostitution);

(4) receives a benefit from participating in a venture that involves an activity described by Subdivision (3) or engages in sexual conduct with a person trafficked in the manner described in Subdivision (3);

(5) traffics a child with the intent that the trafficked child engage in forced labor or services;

(6) receives a benefit from participating in a venture that involves an activity described by Subdivision (5), including by receiving labor or services the person knows are forced labor or services;

(7) traffics a child and by any means causes the trafficked child to engage in, or become the victim of, conduct prohibited by:

(A) Section 21.02 (Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Child or Children);

(B) Section 21.11 (Indecency with a Child);

(C) Section 22.011 (Sexual Assault);

(D) Section 22.021 (Aggravated Sexual Assault);

(E) Section 43.02 (Prostitution);

(F) Section 43.03 (Promotion of Prostitution);

(F-1) Section 43.031 (Online Promotion of Prostitution);

(G) Section 43.04 (Aggravated Promotion of Prostitution);

(G-1) Section 43.041 (Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution);

(H) Section 43.05 (Compelling Prostitution);

(I) Section 43.25 (Sexual Performance by a Child);

(J) Section 43.251 (Employment Harmful to Children); or

(K) Section 43.26 (Possession or Promotion of Child Pornography); or

(8) receives a benefit from participating in a venture that involves an activity described by Subdivision (7) or engages in sexual conduct with a child trafficked in the manner described in Subdivision (7).

(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a)(3), "coercion" as defined by Section 1.07 includes:

(1) destroying, concealing, confiscating, or withholding from a trafficked person, or threatening to destroy, conceal, confiscate, or withhold from a trafficked person, the person's actual or purported:

(A) government records; or

(B) identifying information or documents;

(2) causing a trafficked person, without the person's consent, to become intoxicated, as defined by Section 49.01, to a degree that impairs the person's ability to appraise the nature of the prohibited conduct or to resist engaging in that conduct; or

(3) withholding alcohol or a controlled substance to a degree that impairs the ability of a trafficked person with a chemical dependency, as defined by Section 462.001, Health and Safety Code, to appraise the nature of the prohibited conduct or to resist engaging in that conduct.

(b) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, an offense under this section is a felony of the second degree. An offense under this section is a felony of the first degree if:

(1) the applicable conduct constitutes an offense under Subsection (a)(5), (6), (7), or (8), regardless of whether the actor knows the age of the child at the time of the offense;

(2) the commission of the offense results in the death of the person who is trafficked; or

(3) the commission of the offense results in the death of an unborn child of the person who is trafficked.

(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.

(d) If the victim of an offense under Subsection (a)(7)(A) is the same victim as a victim of an offense under Section 21.02, a defendant may not be convicted of the offense under Section 21.02 in the same criminal action as the offense under Subsection (a)(7)(A) unless the offense under Section 21.02:

(1) is charged in the alternative;

(2) occurred outside the period in which the offense alleged under Subsection (a)(7)(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)(7)(A).

Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 641, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 258 (S.B. 11), Sec. 16.02, eff. September 1, 2007.

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 849 (H.B. 1121), Sec. 5, eff. June 15, 2007.

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1002 (H.B. 4009), Sec. 7, eff. September 1, 2009.

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 24), Sec. 1.02, eff. September 1, 2011.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 480 (H.B. 2529), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 685 (H.B. 29), Sec. 30, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 858 (H.B. 2552), Sec. 15, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1038 (H.B. 1808), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 273 (S.B. 1802), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2019.

Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 413 (S.B. 20), Sec. 3.11, eff. September 1, 2019.