Kidnapping is the crime of seizing and transporting someone against their will, using force or the threat of force. Though a kidnapper may demand payment –ransom—a charge of kidnapping can be brought even without a demand for ransom.
Under many states’ laws, a kidnapping may also take place if someone forcefully prevents another person from leaving a location. For example, if one robber holds a night watchman in the watchman’s office at gunpoint while others steal merchandise, in some states all of the conspirators could be convicted of kidnapping, in addition to other crimes.
Parental Kidnapping
Parents may also be charged with kidnapping their own children. For example, if a father takes a child out of the country for a visit and then refuses to return the child to the mother, who has the right to custody, that could be kidnapping. Even though he is the child’s father, he does not have the right to sole custody, and the child is too young to give consent. Every year, tens of thousands of U.S. children are taken by parents who don’t have the legal right to custody, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Penalties for Kidnapping
Kidnapping laws vary from state to state, but kidnapping is always a felony. Some states have degrees of kidnapping. For example, if the victim was harmed or used as a hostage, the kidnapping was perpetrated as part of another felony, the kidnapper terrorized the victim, or if the kidnapper used a weapon in the commission of the crime, the charge may be first- degree or aggravated kidnapping, and be punished more severely. A kidnapper who released the victim voluntarily in a safe place may be charged with a lesser crime than someone who did not.
Kidnapping is a federal offense if a victim is transported across state lines, or if a kidnapping threat or ransom demand is sent across state lines or through the U.S. mail. Hostage-taking by bank robbers is also the federal crime of kidnapping. (18 U.S. Code sections 1201-1202.)
The penalties are severe. At a minimum, a felony kidnapping conviction commonly has a penalty of three to 10 years in prison. Prior convictions, or aggravated kidnapping may be punished by very long sentences—25 years or even life in prison without the possibility of parole. If kidnapping results in the victim’s death, the convicted kidnapper may be sentenced to death, in states that impose the death penalty.
Kidnapping Charges and Legal Advice
Anyone charged with kidnapping needs counsel from an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. A felony kidnapping conviction will result in not only a prison sentence, but also lifelong difficulty in finding a job, housing, or credit.
Depending on the circumstances, a criminal defense attorney may be able to get kidnapping charges reduced or even dismissed. This is more likely if a parent is charged with kidnapping a child and there are very unusual circumstances—for example, the parent reasonably believed it was necessary to protect a child from abuse.
