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 Massachusetts, kidnapping is defined under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265, Section 26. A person is guilty of kidnapping when they forcibly or secretly confine or imprison another person within the state against their will, or forcibly carry or send such person out of the state, or forcibly seize and confine or inveigle or kidnap another person with the intent to cause them to be secretly confined or imprisoned in the state against their will, or to cause them to be sent out of the state against their will. Aggravated kidnapping in Massachusetts occurs under circumstances that include kidnapping a minor, kidnapping that results in bodily injury, or kidnapping for extortion, among others. The penalties for kidnapping are severe and can include substantial prison time, especially for aggravated kidnapping, which is treated more harshly and may lead to life imprisonment in certain cases. Defenses to kidnapping can include parental rights and consent in some situations, but these are specific and limited. It is important to consult with an attorney for detailed legal advice in any specific case of alleged kidnapping.