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 Iowa, kidnapping is defined under Iowa Code Section 710.1 as the act of either confining a person or removing them from one place to another, without their consent or, if they are a minor, without the consent of their parent or guardian. The offense becomes aggravated kidnapping, as per Iowa Code Section 710.2, if it involves circumstances such as the victim being under 14 years of age, the kidnapper demanding ransom, inflicting serious injury or death, committing the act during a carjacking, using the victim as a shield or hostage, or using a deadly weapon during the kidnapping. The severity of the kidnapping charge in Iowa can range from a Class C felony to a Class A felony, with aggravated kidnapping typically resulting in more severe charges and penalties. Iowa law also addresses child abduction separately, including cases involving family members, which can be found under different statutes and may not require the child to be moved a significant distance to qualify as an offense.