|
CHAPTER 25. OFFENSES AGAINST THE FAMILY
§ 25.07. VIOLATION OF PROTECTIVE ORDER OR MAGISTRATE'S ORDER.
(a) A person commits an offense if, in violation of an
order issued under Section 6.504 or Chapter 85, Family Code, under
Article 17.292, Code of Criminal Procedure, or by another
jurisdiction as provided by Chapter 88, Family Code, the person
knowingly or intentionally:
(1) commits family violence or an act in furtherance
of an offense under Section 42.072;
(2) communicates:
(A) directly with a protected individual or a
member of the family or household in a threatening or harassing
manner;
(B) a threat through any person to a protected
individual or a member of the family or household; or
(C) in any manner with the protected individual
or a member of the family or household except through the person's
attorney or a person appointed by the court, if the order prohibits
any communication with a protected individual or a member of the
family or household;
(3) goes to or near any of the following places as
specifically described in the order:
(A) the residence or place of employment or
business of a protected individual or a member of the family or
household; or
(B) any child care facility, residence, or school
where a child protected by the order normally resides or attends;
or
(4) possesses a firearm.
(b) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Family violence," " family," "household," and
"member of a household" have the meanings assigned by Chapter 71,
Family Code.
(2) "Firearm" has the meaning assigned by Chapter 46.
(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) Reconciliatory actions or agreements made by persons
affected by an order do not affect the validity of the order or the
duty of a peace officer to enforce this section.
(e) A peace officer investigating conduct that may
constitute an offense under this section for a violation of an order
may not arrest a person protected by that order for a violation of
that order.
(f) It is not a defense to prosecution under this section
that certain information has been excluded, as provided by Section
85.007, Family Code, or Article 17.292, Code of Criminal Procedure,
from an order to which this section applies.
(g) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor
unless it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant
has previously been convicted under this section two or more times
or has violated the protective order by committing an assault or the
offense of stalking, in which event the offense is a third degree
felony. |
