Federal Crime Statutes
18 U.S. Code Part I
Chapter 55 — Kidnapping
This chapter outlines federal criminal offenses related to kidnapping and related acts, primarily focusing on the unlawful seizure, confinement, or transportation of individuals. In essence, Chapter 55 criminalizes various forms of kidnapping under federal law, specifying the conditions under which federal jurisdiction applies and outlining the harsh penalties for such offenses.
Sections:
§ 1201 — Kidnapping
(a)Whoever unlawfully seizes, confines, inveigles, decoys, kidnaps, abducts, or carries away and holds for ransom or reward or otherwise any person, except in the case of a minor by the parent thereof, when—
- (1)the person is willfully transported in interstate or foreign commerce, regardless of whether the person was alive when transported across a State boundary, or the offender travels in interstate or foreign commerce or uses the mail or any means, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce in committing or in furtherance of the commission of the offense;
- (2)any such act against the person is done within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States;
- (3)any such act against the person is done within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States as defined in section 46501 of title 49;
- (4)the person is a foreign official, an internationally protected person, or an official guest as those terms are defined in section 1116(b) of this title; or
- (5)the person is among those officers and employees described in section 1114 of this title and any such act against the person is done while the person is engaged in, or on account of, the performance of official duties,
shall be punished by imprisonment for any term of years or for life and, if the death of any person results, shall be punished by death or life imprisonment.
(b)With respect to subsection (a)(1), above, the failure to release the victim within twenty-four hours after he shall have been unlawfully seized, confined, inveigled, decoyed, kidnapped, abducted, or carried away shall create a rebuttable presumption that such person has been transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the fact that the presumption under this section has not yet taken effect does not preclude a Federal investigation of a possible violation of this section before the 24-hour period has ended.
(c)If two or more persons conspire to violate this section and one or more of such persons do any overt act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be punished by imprisonment for any term of years or for life.
(d)Whoever attempts to violate subsection (a) shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than twenty years.
(e)If the victim of an offense under subsection (a) is an internationally protected person outside the United States, the United States may exercise jurisdiction over the offense if (1) the victim is a representative, officer, employee, or agent of the United States, (2) an offender is a national of the United States, or (3) an offender is afterwards found in the United States. As used in this subsection, the United States includes all areas under the jurisdiction of the United States including any of the places within the provisions of sections 5 and 7 of this title and section 46501(2) of title 49. For purposes of this subsection, the term “national of the United States” has the meaning prescribed in section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22)).
(f)In the course of enforcement of subsection (a)(4) and any other sections prohibiting a conspiracy or attempt to violate subsection (a)(4), the Attorney General may request assistance from any Federal, State, or local agency, including the Army, Navy, and Air Force, any statute, rule, or regulation to the contrary notwithstanding.
(g)Special Rule for Certain Offenses Involving Children.—
- (1)To whom applicable.—If—
- (A)the victim of an offense under this section has not attained the age of eighteen years; and
- (B)the offender—
- (i)has attained such age; and
- (ii)is not—
- (I)a parent;
- (II)a grandparent;
- (III)a brother;
- (IV)a sister;
- (V)an aunt;
- (VI)an uncle; or
- (VII)an individual having legal custody of the victim;
the sentence under this section for such offense shall include imprisonment for not less than 20 years.
- [(2)Repealed. Pub. L. 108–21, title I, § 104(b), Apr. 30, 2003, 117 Stat. 653.]
(h)As used in this section, the term “parent” does not include a person whose parental rights with respect to the victim of an offense under this section have been terminated by a final court order.
§ 1202 — Ransom money
(a)Whoever receives, possesses, or disposes of any money or other property, or any portion thereof, which has at any time been delivered as ransom or reward in connection with a violation of section 1201 of this title, knowing the same to be money or property which has been at any time delivered as such ransom or reward, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
(b)A person who transports, transmits, or transfers in interstate or foreign commerce any proceeds of a kidnapping punishable under State law by imprisonment for more than 1 year, or receives, possesses, conceals, or disposes of any such proceeds after they have crossed a State or United States boundary, knowing the proceeds to have been unlawfully obtained, shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, fined under this title, or both.
(c)For purposes of this section, the term “State” has the meaning set forth in section 245(d) of this title.
§ 1203 — Hostage taking
(a)Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, whoever, whether inside or outside the United States, seizes or detains and threatens to kill, to injure, or to continue to detain another person in order to compel a third person or a governmental organization to do or abstain from doing any act as an explicit or implicit condition for the release of the person detained, or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be punished by imprisonment for any term of years or for life and, if the death of any person results, shall be punished by death or life imprisonment.
(b)
- (1)It is not an offense under this section if the conduct required for the offense occurred outside the United States unless—
- (A)the offender or the person seized or detained is a national of the United States;
- (B)the offender is found in the United States; or
- (C)the governmental organization sought to be compelled is the Government of the United States.
- (2)It is not an offense under this section if the conduct required for the offense occurred inside the United States, each alleged offender and each person seized or detained are nationals of the United States, and each alleged offender is found in the United States, unless the governmental organization sought to be compelled is the Government of the United States.
(c)As used in this section, the term “national of the United States” has the meaning given such term in section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22)).
§ 1204 — International parental kidnapping
(a)Whoever removes a child from the United States, or attempts to do so, or retains a child (who has been in the United States) outside the United States with intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 3 years, or both.
(b)As used in this section—
- (1)the term “child” means a person who has not attained the age of 16 years; and
- (2)the term “parental rights”, with respect to a child, means the right to physical custody of the child—
- (A)whether joint or sole (and includes visiting rights); and
- (B)whether arising by operation of law, court order, or legally binding agreement of the parties.
(c)It shall be an affirmative defense under this section that—
- (1)the defendant acted within the provisions of a valid court order granting the defendant legal custody or visitation rights and that order was obtained pursuant to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act or the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act and was in effect at the time of the offense;
- (2)the defendant was fleeing an incidence or pattern of domestic violence; or
- (3)the defendant had physical custody of the child pursuant to a court order granting legal custody or visitation rights and failed to return the child as a result of circumstances beyond the defendant’s control, and the defendant notified or made reasonable attempts to notify the other parent or lawful custodian of the child of such circumstances within 24 hours after the visitation period had expired and returned the child as soon as possible.
(d)This section does not detract from The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Parental Child Abduction, done at The Hague on October 25, 1980.
