Sec. 20A.03. CONTINUOUS TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS. (a) A person commits an offense if, during a period that is 30 or more days in duration, the person engages two or more times in conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 20A.02 against one or more victims.
(b) If a jury is the trier of fact, members of the jury are not required to agree unanimously on which specific conduct engaged in by the defendant constituted an offense under Section 20A.02 or on which exact date the defendant engaged in that conduct. The jury must agree unanimously that the defendant, during a period that is 30 or more days in duration, engaged in conduct that constituted an offense under Section 20A.02.
(c) If the victim of an offense under Subsection (a) is the same victim as a victim of an offense under Section 20A.02, a defendant may not be convicted of the offense under Section 20A.02 in the same criminal action as the offense under Subsection (a), unless the offense under Section 20A.02:
(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).
(d) A defendant may not be charged with more than one count under Subsection (a) if all of the conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 20A.02 is alleged to have been committed against the same victim.
(e) An offense under this section is a felony of the first degree, punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life or for any term of not more than 99 years or less than 25 years.
(f) This subsection applies only to a prosecution for an offense under this section based on conduct constituting an offense under Section 20A.02(a)(7) or (8), in which the actor is alleged to have caused for one or more times a trafficked child or disabled individual to engage in or become the victim of prostitution as defined by Section 43.01. It is not a defense to a prosecution described by this subsection that the trafficked child or disabled individual:
(1) lacks the culpable mental state to engage in the act of prostitution; or
(2) did not complete the act of prostitution.
Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 122 (H.B. 3000), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2011.
Amended by:
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 332 (H.B. 10), Sec. 12, eff. September 1, 2015.
Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 602 (H.B. 2761), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2025.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
23
cases (
9 in the last 5 years), 2015–2024 · leading case:
Ritz v. State, 533 S.W.3d 302 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017).
Ritz v. State, 533 S.W.3d 302 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017).
· cites it 2× “Tex. Penal Code § 20A.03 (“Continuous Trafficking of Persons”); see also Tex Penal Code § 20A.”
Robert Francis Ritz v. State, 481 S.W.3d 383 (Tex. App. 2015).
· cites it 2× “See Tex. Penal Code § 20A.03. In four points of error, Ritz contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court erred by incorrectly instructing the jury that Ritz would not be eligible for parole.”
Ritz, Robert Francis (Tex. App. 2015).
· cites it 4× “03 where the victim testified that on multiple occasions defendant drover her 20 or 25 minutes in order to have sex with her at his home, their sexual relationship lasted more than 30 days, a friend saw her have sex with defendant, text messages between them were of a sexual…”
Ex Parte Quincy Harrison (Tex. App. 2018).
· cites it 2× “FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On April 18, 2017, Appellant Quincy Harrison was indicted by a Bexar County Grand Jury on one count of continuous trafficking of persons pursuant to Texas Penal Code section 20A.03 and three counts of compelling prostitution pursuant to Texas…”
Kenneth Dewayne Nelson v. State (Tex. App. 2019).
· cites it 2× “For 1 See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 20A.03. 2 Nelson was convicted on five indictments in one trial.”
State v. Gloria Elizabeth Romero-Perez (Tex. App. 2020).
· cites it 2× “See Tex. Penal Code § 20A.03. In two points of error on appeal, the State argues that the district court lacked jurisdiction to grant a new trial and, in the alternative, abused its discretion in granting Romero- Perez a new trial.”
Eric Laranze Taylor v. the State of Texas (Tex. App. 2024).
· cites it 2× “” TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 20A.03(a). The continuous trafficking of persons count alleged that, during a period that was 30 or more days in duration, from around March 1, 2016 through October 15, 2018, Taylor engaged two or more times in conduct that constitutes trafficking: 1.”
Issac Williams v. State (Tex. App. 2019).
“” See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 20A.03(a). Specifically, Williams points to evidence relating to the posting of Backpage ads, noting that his name appears only on a few ads that ran from July 20th to August 7th, a period of time less than thirty days.”
— Tex. Penal Code § 20A.03(a) — 8 cases
Ritz v. State, 533 S.W.3d 302 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017).
“Tex. Penal Code § 20A.03 (“Continuous Trafficking of Persons”); see also Tex Penal Code § 20A.”
Robert Francis Ritz v. State, 481 S.W.3d 383 (Tex. App. 2015).
“See Tex. Penal Code § 20A.03. In four points of error, Ritz contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court erred by incorrectly instructing the jury that Ritz would not be eligible for parole.”
Ritz, Robert Francis (Tex. App. 2015).
“03 where the victim testified that on multiple occasions defendant drover her 20 or 25 minutes in order to have sex with her at his home, their sexual relationship lasted more than 30 days, a friend saw her have sex with defendant, text messages between them were of a sexual…”
Issac Williams v. State (Tex. App. 2019).
“” See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 20A.03(a). Specifically, Williams points to evidence relating to the posting of Backpage ads, noting that his name appears only on a few ads that ran from July 20th to August 7th, a period of time less than thirty days.”
— Tex. Penal Code § 20A.03(b) — 1 case
Eric Laranze Taylor v. the State of Texas (Tex. App. 2024).
“” TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 20A.03(a). The continuous trafficking of persons count alleged that, during a period that was 30 or more days in duration, from around March 1, 2016 through October 15, 2018, Taylor engaged two or more times in conduct that constitutes trafficking: 1.”
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