Kidnapping is defined as moving another person a substantial distance without the person’s consent, by means of force, the threat of force, or fear.
Kidnapping Penal Code 207 (a)
Kidnapping under Penal Code 207(a) provides that “every person who forcibly, or by any other means of instilling fear, steals or takes, or holds, detains, or arrests any person in this state, and carries the person into another country, state, or county, or into another part of the same county, is guilty of kidnapping.”
Different Types of Kidnapping
Simple Kidnapping – Forcibly instilling fear, taking, holding, stealing, detaining, or arresting another and transporting another person in another part of the county, another county, state, or country. This is a felony punishable by three, five, or eight years in prison. When the victim is less than 14, the kidnapper can serve five, eight or eleven years in prison.
Extortion through Posing as a Kidnapper – When someone pretends to be a kidnapper to extort money or some other valuable possession. This charge is a felony that is punishable by two, three, or four years in prison.
Aggravated Kidnapping – Situations that include kidnapping for extortion, ransom, reward, to commit a sex crime or robbery. This is a felony, punishable by life in prison with the possibility of parole. If the kidnapping results in harm or death of the victim, the punishment is life in prison without the possibility of parole.
A Carjacking Kidnapping – When someone is kidnapped during a carjacking incident. This is a felony that can result in a life sentence with a possibility of parole.
Parental Kidnapping – A kidnapping charge that is in play when a person who doesn’t have custody rights to a child, maliciously keeps, entices, takes, withholds, or conceals a child with an intent to conceal or detain the child from his or her lawful custodial; this can be either a felony or a misdemeanor. If charged as a misdemeanor, parental kidnapping can result in one year in prison; if charged as a felony parental kidnapping can result in two to five years in prison.
Legal Defenses to a PC 207 KidnappingCharge
Possible defenses for a PC 207 kidnapping charge include the following:
- Consent;
- Lack of intent;
- Insufficient evidence;
- Lack of physical evidence; and
- Other possible defenses for kidnapping is by showing that you were legally entrusted with the custody of the kidnapped person, or evidence that parents separated without a legal decree.
Los Angeles Kidnapping Defense Attorney
If you or a loved one has been charged with kidnapping, we invite you to contact a Los Angeles kidnapping defense attorney today at (2130) 401-2777 for a free consultation.