Houston Sexual Assault Attorney

If you have been accused of sexual assault, you need an experienced Houston sexual assault attorney on your side. A sexual assault allegation can put a person’s entire future at risk in a matter of hours. These types of accusations are among the most severe criminal offenses charged in Texas, and even an investigation can impact your career, family relationships, education, and reputation.

At Haddad & Timmons PLLC, our team understands that sexual assault allegations are emotionally charged, personal matters that are almost always more complex than they seem.

About Us

At Haddad & Timmons PLLC, we defend clients throughout Houston who have been charged with serious felonies, including sexual assault. Our defense attorneys are former prosecutors and experienced trial lawyers who know how sex crime investigations are conducted and how these cases are prosecuted in Harris County.

Our Houston sexual assault lawyers treat every client with discretion and respect, and we are compassionate about each person we represent. At the same time, our lawyers aggressively challenge the prosecution’s evidence in court. Many of these cases end up at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center located on Franklin Street in Houston.

If Things Go Bad, Call Haddad & Timmons.

Former Prosecutors. Proven Defenders. Fighting for Your Future.

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Sexual Assault Laws in Texas

Texas law defines sexual assault as sexual contact with another person without their consent or with a person who is unable to consent under Texas law. Prosecutors can file sexual assault charges based on allegations of force, threats, intoxication, unconsciousness, or age-related consent issues.

Depending on the circumstances surrounding your case, consent may become a heavily contested issue during your investigation or prosecution. The prosecutor may use the types of evidence listed below against you:

• Witness interviews
• Recorded statements
• Medical records
• Text messages and emails
• Surveillance
• Forensics

Some sexual assault investigations happen within hours of an alleged incident. In other cases, the accused person may not learn they are being investigated for sexual assault until months or years later. After enough time passes, investigations can become more complicated due to a lack of physical evidence.

Penalties under Texas law may increase if serious bodily injury, a deadly weapon, multiple defendants, or minors are involved. Aggravated sexual assault charges may also be filed under certain circumstances.

Common Types of Sexual Assault Cases

Houston had 1,380 sexual assaults in 2025. Compared to the previous year, which recorded 1,722 sexual assaults, this represented a 19.9% drop. Sexual assault allegations can stem from a variety of situations. Many assaults are wrongly assumed to involve strangers, but the reality is that most allegations are between people who knew each other prior to the alleged incident. Common sexual assault cases include acts like those listed below:

• Allegations between dating relationships or ex-partners
• Assaults that occurred at a party or social gathering
• Incidents involving alcohol or intoxicated parties
• College or university campus assaults
• Sexual assaults in the workplace
• Online communications and meetings
• Delayed reporting of alleged past assaults

Surprisingly, it’s quite common for these situations to involve individuals who don’t actually disagree about whether sexual contact took place. Instead, they strongly disagree about whether the contact was consensual. Other cases involve situations where the accused person thought they had consent to engage in sexual conduct.

False allegations can also occur due to relationship problems, divorces, custody battles, or personal revenge. In many instances, sexual assault cases boil down to private disagreements between the parties involved. Juries and prosecutors are often forced to make judgment calls about a person’s credibility and version of events.

Sexual Assault Penalties in Texas

Sexual assault charges carry serious penalties that can impact every aspect of an individual’s life. Typically, simple sexual assault is charged as a second-degree felony. However, certain aggravating factors may allow the state to seek a first-degree felony. Sexual assault charges may lead to the consequences listed below:

• Several years to life in prison
• Up to $10,000 in fines
• Required sex offender registration
• Probation conditions and supervision
• Employment and housing difficulties
• Immigration consequences
• Educational and professional opportunities

Sexual assault convictions can follow defendants for the rest of their lives. In addition to completing their sentence, defendants may face social stigma and become the target of community scrutiny. Sex offender registration requirements can impose lifelong restrictions on where a person can live, work, travel, and limit their privacy.

Evidence in a Sexual Assault Case

Evidence in sexual assault cases may be different than what you would expect to see in other criminal cases. Firstly, one of the challenges is that there may be no independent witnesses to the alleged crime. Prosecutors may have to rely on the victim’s word against the defendant’s word. Other forms of evidence that may be used against the defendant are listed below:

• Posts on social media
• Texts
• Medical forensic exams
• DNA collection
• Video footage from nearby cameras
• Phone records and location information
• Interview transcripts
• Witness testimonies

However, the mere presence of evidence doesn’t guarantee it can conclusively establish the facts of the incident. Sometimes, text messages before and after the alleged assault, delayed reporting, confusing statements, and lack of forensic evidence can all play a factor in the case.

Because sexual assault is such a sensitive crime, evidence can be impacted by the emotions of the individuals involved. The instant a report is filed, police officers might develop a pre-conceived notion of the situation, even before inspecting the evidence.

Hire a Sexual Assault Attorney

Police officers often collect evidence against someone long before they make an arrest. They may read your texts, secure warrants to search phones, talk to witnesses, and take recorded statements as they work to build a case against you. You may not even realize an investigation is happening until prosecutors tell you they intend to file felony charges.

Sexual assault accusations are also different because someone’s opinion of you can change as soon as they learn about the allegations. Whether or not you are charged or convicted of a crime, you could experience work-related issues, school punishment, broken relationships, and damage to your reputation.

The emotional turmoil someone experiencing a sexual assault accusation is going through can make it difficult to comprehend complex legal matters. Harris County sexual assault cases can include reviewing large amounts of evidence, forensics, and credibility issues.

Contact a Houston Sexual Assault Defense Attorney You Can Trust

At Haddad & Timmons PLLC, we understand how serious a sexual assault accusation is. We can help you build a defense and defend your rights. Contact us to hire a sexual assault attorney whom you can count on.