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 New Hampshire, kidnapping is codified under RSA 633:1 and is defined as purposely confining another person with the intent to cause such person to be secretly confined or imprisoned against his or her will, or to be sent out of the state. The offense becomes aggravated kidnapping, as per RSA 633:2, if the perpetrator's intent is to hold the victim for ransom or reward, or if the victim is injured, or if the perpetrator is armed with a deadly weapon, among other aggravating circumstances. The law does not require the victim to be transported over a significant distance for the act to be considered kidnapping. New Hampshire also recognizes the offense of interference with custody (RSA 633:4) which can apply to situations where a parent or relative abducts a child, potentially even without moving the child a significant distance. The penalties for kidnapping and aggravated kidnapping are severe and can include substantial prison time, especially when the victim is a child or when the kidnapping results in serious harm or involves the use of a deadly weapon.