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 Rhode Island, kidnapping is defined under Rhode Island General Laws Section 11-26-1 as unlawfully restraining another person with the intent to hold them for ransom, reward, or other unlawful purpose, or to interfere with the performance of any governmental or political function. The offense becomes aggravated kidnapping, as per Section 11-26-1.1, if it involves a child under 14 years of age, a demand for ransom, serious bodily injury or death to the victim, occurs during a carjacking, if the victim is used as a shield or hostage, or if a deadly weapon is used during the kidnapping. Rhode Island law also addresses child snatching in Section 11-26-1.3, which is a separate offense that involves the abduction or enticement of a child under 18 by a relative, and it does not require the child to be moved a significant distance. Penalties for kidnapping offenses in Rhode Island are severe and can include substantial prison time, especially for aggravated kidnapping.