A person generally commits the criminal offense of kidnapping by using force or other means of instilling fear to steal, take, hold, detain, abduct, or arrest a person and take them to another location. A person of any age may be a victim of kidnapping.

And a person generally commits the criminal offense of aggravated kidnapping if the person (1) uses force, fear, or fraud upon a victim who is a child under 14 years of age; (2) accompanies the kidnapping with a demand for ransom; (3) causes the victim to suffer serious bodily injury or death; (4) kidnaps a person during a carjacking; (5) uses the victim as a shield or hostage; or (6) exhibits or uses a deadly weapon during the course of the kidnapping.

Kidnapping laws vary from state to state, including definitions and affirmative defenses, such as whether the person taken is related to the kidnapper. Some states have child abduction laws that apply to the abduction of children by parents or relatives when the child is not moved a significant distance (out of county or state). Kidnapping laws are generally located in a state’s statutes—often in the penal or criminal code.

In Kentucky, kidnapping is defined under Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) 509.040 and is considered a Class B felony. A person is guilty of kidnapping when they unlawfully restrain another person with the intent to (1) hold them for ransom or reward; (2) use them as a shield or hostage; (3) facilitate the commission of a felony or flight thereafter; (4) inflict bodily injury or to terrorize the victim or another; or (5) interfere with the performance of a governmental or political function. Aggravated kidnapping, although not specifically termed as such in Kentucky law, would be characterized by circumstances that involve the use of deadly force or weapon, serious bodily injury, or the victim being a child under 14 years of age, which could lead to more severe penalties. Kentucky law also addresses parental kidnapping under KRS 509.070, which makes it a felony for a parent to take their child out of the state in violation of a custody agreement or court order. The statutes provide a comprehensive framework for addressing various scenarios of kidnapping and related offenses, with specific provisions for cases involving minors and parental abductions.