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Criminal Law • Excuse
CRIMLAW#029
Legal Definition
Kidnapping is the confinement of another person involving either (a) movement, or (b) concealment of the victim.
Plain English Explanation
Kidnapping occurs when a perpetrator restricts a victim's freedom of movement and makes it hard for others to locate them, either by hiding them or transporting them somewhere. In many ways, kidnapping is a more extreme version of false imprisonment, where someone's freedom of movement is unlawfully restricted. However, it has the addition of trying to move or hide the person's body to exert more control over the victim.
Hypothetical
Hypo 1: Bob is an Uber driver. One day, Bob picks up Sam who wants to be dropped off at the mall. When Sam gets into Bob's car, Bob locks the doors and begins to drive Sam out into the desert, miles away from the mall. Result: Bob has kidnapped Sam.
Hypo 2: Bob sees Sam at the mall. Bob wants to get Sam to go to the desert, so he begins yelling at Sam to walk a certain way. Sam, annoyed by Bob's yelling, agrees. Bob yells at Sam for hours as they walk from the mall out to the desert. Result: Sam was not kidnapped. Though he may have been intimidated, he was never confined or concealed even if he was sort of herded like a sheep.
Hypo 3: Sam is out hiking in the woods and comes across an abandoned mine. Sam walks in to explore, not knowing that Bob was watching. Once Sam is deep inside of the mine, Bob rolls a large rock in front of the mine entrance, preventing Sam from escaping. Result: Bob has concealed Sam within the mine and confined him to the mine. Bob has kidnapped Sam.
Hypo 2: Bob sees Sam at the mall. Bob wants to get Sam to go to the desert, so he begins yelling at Sam to walk a certain way. Sam, annoyed by Bob's yelling, agrees. Bob yells at Sam for hours as they walk from the mall out to the desert. Result: Sam was not kidnapped. Though he may have been intimidated, he was never confined or concealed even if he was sort of herded like a sheep.
Hypo 3: Sam is out hiking in the woods and comes across an abandoned mine. Sam walks in to explore, not knowing that Bob was watching. Once Sam is deep inside of the mine, Bob rolls a large rock in front of the mine entrance, preventing Sam from escaping. Result: Bob has concealed Sam within the mine and confined him to the mine. Bob has kidnapped Sam.
Visual Aids
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