Tex. Codes » Penal Code · TITLE 5. OFFENSES AGAINST THE PERSON · CHAPTER 21. SEXUAL OFFENSES

Tex. Penal Code § 21.17

Voyeurism

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Sec. 21.17. VOYEURISM. (a) A person commits an offense if the person, with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of the actor, observes, including remotely through the use of electronic means, another person without the other person's consent while the other person is in a dwelling or structure in which the other person has a reasonable expectation of privacy.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c) or (d), an offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

(c) An offense under this section is a state jail felony if it is shown on the trial of the offense that:

(1) the actor has previously been convicted of an offense under this section;

(2) the victim was a child younger than 18 years of age at the time of the offense; or

(3) the offense was committed in a location that was on the premises of a postsecondary educational institution.

(d) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that:

(1) the victim was a child younger than 18 years of age at the time of the offense; and

(2) the actor has previously been convicted of an offense punishable under Subsection (c)(2).

(e) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both.

(f) In this section, "postsecondary educational institution" and "premises" have the meanings assigned by Section 12.502.

Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 676 (H.B. 207), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2015.

Redesignated from Penal Code, Section 21.16 by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 324 (S.B. 1488), Sec. 24.001(35), eff. September 1, 2017.

Amended by:

Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 326 (H.B. 2306), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2023.

Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 557 (H.B. 1422), Sec. 19, eff. September 1, 2025.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2018–2026 · leading case: Oliva v. State
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Oliva v. State (2018) texcrimapp “141(c), (d) (A Class C offense for moving a quarantined animal becomes a Class B misdemeanor with a prior offense under that section, and violating a quarantine established in relation to foot-and-mouth disease increases from a Class A misdemeanor to a felony if it is a second…”
State v. Trenton Kyle Green (2020) texapp “06(g)(1) (increases to first-degree felony with a minimum of twenty-five years’ imprisonment); TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 21.17(c) (increases from class C to class B misdemeanor); TEX.”
United States v. Watkins (2026) ca10 “§ 39-13-607 ;2 Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 21.17 ;2 Tex. Penal Code Ann.”
— Tex. Penal Code § 21.17(c) — 1 case
State v. Trenton Kyle Green (2020) texapp “06(g)(1) (increases to first-degree felony with a minimum of twenty-five years’ imprisonment); TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 21.17(c) (increases from class C to class B misdemeanor); TEX.”
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