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 Illinois, kidnapping is defined under 720 ILCS 5/10-1 as the act of knowingly and secretly confining another person against their will, or by using force or threat of imminent force to take another person from one place to another with intent to confine them against their will. The law applies to victims of any age. Aggravated kidnapping, as per 720 ILCS 5/10-2, occurs under more serious circumstances, such as when the victim is under 14 years of age, when ransom is demanded, if the victim suffers serious bodily harm or death, during a carjacking, if the victim is used as a shield or hostage, or if a deadly weapon is used during the kidnapping. Illinois law also addresses child abduction, which can include cases where a parent or relative takes a child without lawful authority, potentially even without moving the child a significant distance. The specific statutes provide the legal framework for kidnapping and related offenses, and they outline the penalties and affirmative defenses available in such cases.