Child abduction is a so-called “wavering” offence, which means that it can be charged either as a misdemeanor or as a felony. If charged as a felony, child abduction sentences include up to 4 years in the county jail and a fine of up to $10,000. If you are convicted of child abduction in addition to abduction, you may be sentenced to consecutive sentences for both violations. You “may be guilty of child abduction, regardless of whether the child resisted or objected, and even if the child agreed to accompany you.” However, you cannot violate this section if you take an abandoned child. “A parent leaves a child leaving with the intention of breaking the relationship with the child and ending all parental obligations.” [39] Abduction is an objective criterion. This means that the prosecution must prove that you acted maliciously, with the intent to take, attract, keep, restrain or hide the child or children from the other parent or the parent`s representative. If every element of the crime can be proven beyond a doubt, you can be convicted of child abduction. Example: Accused Damian receives an email informing him that his wife was kidnapped while visiting relatives abroad. Fearing that his wife would be hurt because there had been several violent abductions with Americans in the country she visited, he obeyed the instructions in the message and refused to inform the police of the situation.
Then Damian contacts the kidnappers and begins negotiating a cash payment for his wife`s release. But unbeknownst to Damian, the message came from the police as part of a “sting” designed to catch people posing as arranging the release of kidnapping victims. Damian is arrested and charged under Article 210 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Should he be convicted? Note that child abduction is a crime against the parent or legal guardian. It is not a crime against the child who is abducted.5 Under California`s abduction laws, child theft is a crime when an adult knowingly and maliciously abducts a child under the age of 18 from his or her legal guardian. To convict a person of child abduction, a prosecutor must also prove that the defendant did not have custody at the time of the abduction and that he intentionally intended to hide the child from the legal guardian. It is illegal to kidnap a person during a car hijacking under California Penal Code 209.5 PC. This offence occurs when the victim has moved significantly away from the area where the carjacking took place and when the victim`s movement increases the risk of harm beyond the risk of carjacking.
If you are convicted of contravening section 209.5 of the Criminal Code, you can be sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of probation. To make a case of child abduction in California, the state must prove that: The exception to this defense applies to unlawful intent/acts. If you take your child with you to engage in criminal activity, this defence does not apply.31 Here, the uncle is guilty of child abduction. This is true even though Peggy never fought her uncle or tried to resist travel. To report a child abduction in California, contact police and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children`s 24/7 hotline at 1-877-446-2632. Conclusion: Denton took Vick home, denying custody of Vick to his ex-wife for a while. He had no right to take Vick if he acted. Vick, an elementary school student, was probably under eighteen. Denton, one might say, intended to “imprison” Vick for the purposes of the law.
But even if the other elements are present, there is no reason to accuse Denton of a “malicious” act. He had no intention of doing anything illegal. He also did not intend to annoy, disturb, cheat or hurt anyone. Denton was simply confused about the date. Therefore, while the other elements of the offence may be present, Denton should be acquitted of the charges. Child abduction is also related, but differs from, abduction under Criminal Code 207 CP. Abduction is a crime against the person who is swept away by violence, fear or fraud, or who has travelled a considerable distance. A “lawful guardian” is a person who has the legal right to have custody of the child and the right to physically care for and control the child. Family court proceedings often result in custody orders in which parents or guardians share custody of a child. 1. [California Penal Code Sections 277-280: leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=pen&group=00001-01000&file=277-280] 2. [Los Angeles District Attorneys Office Child Abduction Unit: da.co.la.ca.us/cau/] 3.
[California Penal Code Sections 207-210: www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=pen&group=00001-01000&file=207-210] ↩ ↩ ↩ 4. [California Penal Code Section 278: law.onecle.com/california/penal/278.html] ↩ According to California Penal Code 210 PC, it is illegal to commit extortion by impersonating a hijacker. For example, if you impersonate someone who kidnapped someone for ransom, you would be guilty of violating Criminal Code 210 PC. It is almost always best to have a lawyer to help you request temporary emergency detention. For legal recommendations, see CA Find a Lawyer. California Penal Code 278 PC defines child abduction as a situation in which an unguarded person abducts a child and keeps the child away from his or her parent or guardian. The crime can be charged as a misdemeanor or felony and is punishable by up to four years in prison or imprisonment. Like child abduction, revoking a custody order is a flawed offense, and penalties can be up to 1 year in prison if charged with a misdemeanor and up to 3 years in prison if charged with a felony.
Under Section 278 of the California Penal Code, it is illegal to maliciously remove a child from his or her parents or guardians. Similar to abduction under Section 207 of the California Penal Code, child abduction is considered a crime against the parent, while abduction is considered a crime against the child. A person can be prosecuted for both offences for the same incident. The District Attorney for Child Abduction2 intervenes when a parent or other non-custodial family member abducts a child. Child abduction not only affects family court, juvenile court, and/or probate court, but may also involve a violation of California law. Conclusion: The girlfriend took Van by force (i.e. the violence necessary to take Van away from her ex-husband, who at the end of the day had the legal right to custody of Van). Van, who was only five years old, did not agree to be transferred. Van could not have stopped his adult mother from driving the car. Van`s mother would have known these things. These facts justify the prima facie case of a kidnapping charge – but against Girlfriend, not against Danny. Danny was actually just as much a kidnapping victim as Van.
Neither Van nor Danny agreed to be transferred; Danny tried to make her turn around and failed. Danny simply did not help or support his girlfriend or conspired to commit the crime. While Girlfriend is guilty, Danny should be acquitted because he wasn`t the real kidnapper. A person usually becomes the legal guardian of a child after a judge has ruled that it is in the best interests of the child for that adult to care for them. California judges do not automatically award custody to the mother or father; Instead, they assess the quality of life the child might have in the care of each parent. We could argue that you had legal custody at the time you were charged with abducting the child. Unlike the above-mentioned child abduction, this crime can be prosecuted against anyone, whether they have custody or not. If you are a parent or legal guardian of a child, you can violate this law without also violating California abduction law, as parents cannot legally abduct their own children unless they “take” their children with unlawful intent. In another example, a woman notices that a strange man has moved in next door with a young girl he says is his daughter. That night, the woman sees a story on the news about a kidnapped girl that fits the description of the new girl next door.
The next day, the woman sees the girl playing alone in the yard. The woman grabs the girl and immediately takes her to the local sheriff`s station. It turns out that the girl wasn`t the girl who disappeared from television, and the strange man is really her father. This woman would probably not be prosecuted for child abduction because she had no malicious intent when she took the girl. Example: A girlfriend drives accused friend Danny across county borders to pick up Victim Van, the girlfriend`s five-year-old son, from the ex-husband. The girlfriend has custody of Van for the day. They take Van to an amusement park and their girlfriend takes them all back to the ex-husband`s house at the end of the day.