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 Washington State, kidnapping is defined under RCW 9A.40.030 (Kidnapping in the first degree) and RCW 9A.40.040 (Kidnapping in the second degree). Kidnapping in the first degree occurs when a person intentionally abducts another person with the intent to hold them for ransom or reward, use them as a shield or hostage, facilitate the commission of a felony, inflict bodily injury, or interfere with a governmental function. Kidnapping in the second degree involves abducting another person under circumstances not amounting to first-degree kidnapping. Aggravated kidnapping, which can be considered as first-degree kidnapping, may involve factors such as abducting a child under 14 years of age, causing serious bodily injury or death, or using a deadly weapon. Washington law also addresses parental kidnapping under RCW 9A.40.060 (Custodial interference in the first and second degree), which makes it a crime for a relative to take, entice, or withhold a child from their legal custodian when they have no legal right to do so. The specific circumstances of the case, such as the relationship between the kidnapper and the victim, and whether the victim was moved a significant distance, can affect the charges and potential defenses available.