What Constitutes Parental Kidnapping?

Posted in Child Custody,Child Support on March 5, 2025

If you’re separated from your spouse and preparing to go through the divorce process, you should have an experienced divorce lawyer in Carlsbad, CA, on your side. This is especially true if you and your soon-to-be ex-partner share children.

This attorney will help create a clear child custody plan. It might reduce the chances of you or your significant other having to worry about parental kidnapping becoming an issue at any point in the future.

So, what is considered kidnapping from a parent, how common is it, and what are the legal ramifications associated with these types of cases? Keep reading to find out.

What Is Considered Kidnapping From a Parent?

Child custody issues have seemingly decreased dramatically within the U.S. over the last few decades. According to a 2022 study, only about 13% of American divorced couples shared physical custody of their children in the mid-1980s. By the mid-2010s, this number had nearly tripled, increasing to 34%.

These statistics suggest that many divorced couples throughout the country are figuring out ways to work together to provide their children with access to both of their parents. However, some continue to struggle to see eye to eye when it comes to child custody, and in certain instances, this may lead to parental kidnapping cases.

Before we discuss these cases, you must know the answer to the question, “What is considered kidnapping from a parent?” So, let’s start there to ensure you understand them.

Parental kidnapping occurs when the parent of a child defies the custodial rights of the other parent by taking them at a time when they don’t have court-ordered custody and keeping them. It falls under California Penal Code 278 and is also referred to as:

Child concealment
Child stealing
Child theft
Custodial interference
Parental abduction

It is also worth noting that parents aren’t the only people capable of this kind of kidnapping. Some cases also involve other family members helping non-custodial parents take children and conceal their whereabouts from custodial parents. There are even times when other family members take children they do not have custody of and hide them from their custodial parents without their non-custodial parents knowing.

How Common Is Parental Kidnapping?

According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, parental kidnapping cases are more common than many people realize. One recent NCMEC study discovered that over 11,500 children were kidnapped by parents and/or family members between 2008 and 2017. It also revealed that about 25% of these cases involved international parental kidnapping.

Here are a few other NCMEC statistics you should know:

About two-thirds of parental kidnapping cases include children between the ages of 0 and 6.
Almost all of the children involved in them — 99.7% — are found alive.
Children kidnapped by parents or family members go missing for an average of about six months.

Is Parental Kidnapping a Crime?

Since parental kidnapping involves a parent or another family member taking a child related to them, some people mistakenly believe it isn’t a crime. This couldn’t be further from the truth, as it is typically considered both a state and federal crime, and a very serious one at that. Those who commit it in California break state laws that fall under Penal Code 278 while also breaking federal laws in the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act (IPKCA).

Here are the essential criteria that will make it a crime:

A parent or another family member takes a child under 18 away from a custodial parent without permission.
They conceal a child from their legal guardian despite not having custodial or visitation rights at the time of their abduction.
They refuse to return a child to their custodial parent.

What Are the Legal Ramifications Associated With Parental Kidnapping?

All states and the federal government take kidnapping cases, including those that involve parental kidnapping, seriously. In an attempt to prevent them, California has imposed a series of severe legal ramifications for those found guilty of this crime.

Depending on the circumstances, it may qualify as either a misdemeanor or a felony crime, which can affect the legal consequences for a parent or other family member.

Those found guilty of misdemeanor charges face:

Up to a year in jail
Up to $1,000 in fines

Those found guilty of felony charges face:

Up to four years in prison
Up to $10,000 in fines

Additionally, convictions often lead to consequences when it comes to child custody arrangements. Parents convicted of kidnapping their children may only receive supervised visits moving forward and lose other custodial rights.

What Should You Do If You Suspect Parental Kidnapping?

Many divorced parents won’t ever have to worry about parental kidnapping turning into an issue within their families. Unfortunately, this form of abduction does take shape in some cases, and you should know how to respond just in case you’re ever forced to.

Here are the steps you should take if you ever suspect a child’s other parent of taking them and concealing their whereabouts:

Call the local police and notify them of your suspicions, providing as much information as possible about your child and their parent.
Contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and let the organization know your child is missing and may have been kidnapped by their other parent or another family member.
Reach out to a family law attorney to discuss your legal options.
Consider asking a judge to implement an emergency child custody order, restricting your child’s other parent from having legal custody of them for the time being.
Request that a judge force your child’s other parent to post a bond to cover the costs of searching for them.

You should also lean on the family law attorney you bring on board to provide legal representation to assist you throughout this process. They can provide much-needed insights into how you should proceed from a legal perspective while you’re simultaneously trying to quickly track down your missing child.

How Can a Divorce Lawyer Help Prevent Parental Kidnapping?

Sadly, some parental kidnapping cases are unavoidable. Non-custodial parents sometimes make poor decisions and potentially put their own children at risk by taking them from their custodial parents for one reason or another.

You may, however, minimize the chances of parental kidnapping impacting your children by working closely with a divorce lawyer to come up with a fair child custody and visitation agreement with the other parent. This is challenging in many instances, but having the right attorney in your corner could make a massive difference in the agreement you reach and the communication that occurs throughout your negotiations.

Contact Our Law Firm for Assistance With Complex Child Custody Cases

Divorce cases are often complicated enough. When you add child custody and visitation to the equation, they become even more complex and require reputable divorce lawyers to work them out.

Let the family law attorneys from Ratzer | Dobis assist you during your divorce proceedings. We will answer any questions you might have about child custody, including “What is considered kidnapping from a parent?” We can also discuss the legalities surrounding leaving the state or even traveling internationally with your children following a divorce.

Call us at (858) 793-7700 to arrange a free consultation.