Legal Definitions - kidnapping

Kidnapping is a serious crime involving the unlawful taking or confinement of a person against their will. It typically involves the use of force, threats, or deception to move the victim to a different location or to hide them. The core elements are the unauthorized deprivation of a person's freedom of movement and the intent to hold them captive or move them without their consent.

In some situations, if the kidnapping involves additional harmful circumstances, such as causing bodily injury, committing sexual assault, or demanding a ransom, it can be considered an aggravated form of the crime, which carries more severe legal penalties.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of kidnapping:

• Example 1: A group of individuals ambushes a prominent CEO outside their office, forces them into a waiting vehicle at gunpoint, and drives them to a secluded rural property. They then contact the CEO's family, demanding a substantial sum of money for their safe return.

  This illustrates kidnapping because the CEO was unlawfully seized using force (gunpoint), transported against their will to a different location, and held captive with the explicit intent of extorting money, which also qualifies it as aggravated kidnapping due to the ransom demand.

• Example 2: A disgruntled former employee, seeking revenge, waits for their ex-manager to leave work, then shoves them into an unlocked van, drives them several blocks away, and ties them to a chair in an abandoned building for several hours before fleeing. The manager is later found unharmed.

  This is an example of kidnapping because the ex-manager was unlawfully restrained by force, moved to a new location against their will, and held captive, even if no ransom was involved. The key elements are the forced movement and the deprivation of liberty.

• Example 3: A non-custodial parent, who has lost all legal visitation rights, secretly waits outside their child's school. When the child emerges, the parent grabs them, pulls them into their car, and immediately drives across state lines with the intention of hiding the child from the custodial parent indefinitely.

  This scenario constitutes kidnapping because the child was unlawfully taken by force or stealth from their legal guardian, moved to a different location (across state lines), and concealed against the will of the person with legal custody. The unauthorized taking and movement, coupled with the intent to hide the child, fulfill the criteria for kidnapping.