Child Abduction

Child abduction happens when a person, who has no custody rights over a child, takes and keeps a child away from their legal guardians or parents. This is a crime committed against a child, and so it can result in severe penalties upon conviction. Prosecutors file misdemeanor or felony charges for child abduction, depending on the perpetrator’s criminal history and the details of their case. If you are convicted of child abduction, you could face a lengthy prison sentence, a hefty court fine, and other devastating consequences that can affect various aspects of your life.

You can partner with us at CCLG: Los Angeles Criminal Attorney for a favorable outcome if you face child abduction charges in Los Angeles. We can defend your rights, help you navigate complex legal processes, and fight alongside you to achieve the best possible outcome in your case.

The Legal Meaning of Child Abduction

Children are vulnerable to negligence and abuse. They cannot protect themselves or make rational decisions regarding their lives. For that reason, they must remain under the custody of their parents or a legal guardian who has their best interests at heart. The law is very protective of children and has severe consequences for anyone who commits a crime against a child. Child abduction is one such crime that can result in severe penalties if it puts a child at risk of harm. Thus, you should hire the best criminal defense services if you face child abduction charges today.

Remember that child abduction happens when you take or keep a child, for whom you do not have the right of custody, away from their legal parents or guardians. This still counts as a serious crime if the child agreed to go with you. Abduction is not necessarily kidnapping, whereby you use force against the child. You can be accused of child abduction even if the child willingly agreed to stay with you, as long as you kept them from their legal parents or guardians, and have no right of custody over them.

Specifically, the child abduction law, under Penal Code 278, specifically prohibits any person who has no right of custody over a child from enticing away, maliciously taking, withholding, keeping, or concealing a child with the intent to conceal or detain the child from their lawful custodian. The crime can be minor or severe, depending on the underlying facts of the case. A minor child abduction case can result in misdemeanor charges, while a severe case can result in felony charges.

Here are some of the circumstances that can trigger a child abduction charge:

• If you, as a divorced parent who lost your parental rights during the divorce, decide to take your children out of town one weekend, without informing anyone. This also counts as parental kidnapping, especially if you secretly take them out of their home or school without permission.
• A family friend or relative who takes a child on a trip out of state or country without informing the child’s parents, or with the intent to hide the child from the parents
• An in-law who hides a child in his home to conceal them from one of their parents when the parents disagree

The Elements of the Crime

The legal definition of child abduction, under PC 278, contains all the elements of the crime that the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt to obtain a conviction. These elements include the following:

• That you maliciously withheld or took a child from their legal custodian
• The child was younger than 18 at the time of the crime
• You did not have the legal right to stay with or visit the child when you committed the crime
• You intended to conceal or detain the child from their legal custodian

Let us look at some of these elements in detail to understand the crime even better:

Intentionally and Maliciously

The prosecutor must prove that your actions were intentional and malicious for the court to find you guilty of child abduction.

You act intentionally when you willfully or deliberately do something. This means that your actions were not a mistake but something you knowingly did.

A malicious act defrauds, disturbs, annoys, or injures another person.

Thus, the prosecutor must prove that you took away a child with a deliberate intent to harm, annoy, or disturb their legal custodian.

A Child’s Legal Custodian

A child’s legal custodian is the person or people who have the right to care for and stay with a child. A child’s birth or biological parents automatically have this right. However, a biological parent can lose their right in case of a custodial issue, child abuse, or child endangerment. In most cases, courts grant custody according to a child’s best interests.

A child’s legal custodian can also be someone who is not related to them by blood. This can be someone whom the court has granted custody rights through adoption or another court order. If a court hands over a child to a legal guardian, and the biological parents lose their parental rights, the biological parents can be accused of child abduction if they take the child from their legal guardians without consent.

Remember that you can be guilty of child abduction even if the child agreed to go with you. What matters is your actions and intent.

Example: After being convicted of child endangerment, Mark and Sally lost custody of their child, Stacy, to their aunt, Molly. The couple agreed to stay away from Stacy, and Molly decided to care for her in all aspects, including her physical, emotional, and mental needs. However, three years later, the couple decided to take back their child without informing Molly or going through a legal process. Although Mark and Sally are Stacy’s biological parents, taking her away from Molly, who has legal custody, is child abduction. This will stick, even if Stacy went with her parents willingly.

Note: Child abduction is mainly committed against a child’s legal custodian or parent, not necessarily the child. If a child is hurt in the process, you could face additional legal charges, like child endangerment or child abuse.

The Intent

The prosecutor must prove your intent to convince the court to convict you of the charges. In this case, the intent is either to conceal the child or deprive the child’s legal custodian of their rights. If you did not have this intent, you may be able to fight your charges.

Additionally, proving a person’s intent can be a challenging task. If the prosecutor cannot prove this beyond a reasonable doubt, the court can dismiss or reduce your charges.

Child Abduction under PC 278.5

Penal Code 278.5 specifically prohibits a person from depriving another parent of their right to custody or visitation of a child. If you do this, the prosecutor will file child abduction charges against you. This crime is mainly committed against parents or legal custodians who have the right to a child, but their rights are deprived by the other parent or legal custodian. While this does not necessarily involve secretly taking the child away from their legal custodian, it can result in severe penalties upon conviction.

While PC 278 and PC 278.5 prohibit child abduction, they apply to different situations. PC 278 prohibits the taking of a child from their legal custodian by someone who has no legal right to the child. On the other hand, PC 278.5 applies in a situation where a person has a legal right to a child, but denies the right of another, who also has a legal right to the same child.

For example, after a divorce, one parent may be granted custody of the children, and the other parent may be granted visitation rights. In this case, the two parents are expected to cooperate and ensure no one violates the rights of the other parent. If the custodial parent denies the other parent their visitation rights, they can be charged under PC 278.5.

For a conviction under this law, the prosecutor must prove the following elements:

• That you willfully and maliciously withheld or took a child
• The child was a minor at the time (younger than 18)
• Your actions deprived another parent of their legal right to the child, whether custodial or visitation rights.

Example: After seven years of marriage and two boys, Malik and Irene ended their marriage. In the divorce agreement, the two parents were awarded joint custody of the children. However, Malik was not ready to share his boys with Irene, whom he blames for their troubled marriage. A few weeks after the divorce, Malik refused to let Irene have the children on the days when she was supposed to be with them. Here, he is guilty of depriving her of custody rights over the boys. If convicted, Malik may face a jail sentence, which could impact his custody rights if Irene pursues the matter in family court.

The Legal Penalties of a Conviction for Child Abduction

Child abduction is a wobbler offense in California, meaning that prosecutors charge it as a felony or misdemeanor, depending on the circumstances of a case and a defendant’s criminal history.

A misdemeanor is a minor case of child abduction, whereby the child or the legal custodian does not suffer any harm. It is punishable by the following:

• One year in jail, or
• Misdemeanor probation
• $1000 in court fines

The judge can sentence you to jail or probation, depending on the circumstances of your case. Although you serve your sentence from home, you still have to adhere to the strict probation set by the judge during sentencing. You may be required to perform community service for a predetermined number of hours, not to engage in any crime while on probation, and to report your progress periodically to the judge during probation.

A felony charge for child abduction can occur under the following circumstances:

• You expose the child to a substantial risk of bodily harm or illness
• You physically harm the child, or threaten the child or the parent with physical harm
• You intend to conceal or detain the child permanently from their legal custodian
• You keep the child for a considerable amount of time
• You have a prior conviction for child abduction, or any other crime against a minor
• If you acted with criminal or gross negligence towards the child or their legal custodian

If the court finds you guilty of a felony for child abduction, you will likely receive the following penalties:

• Two, three, or four years in prison, or
• Felony probation
• $10,000 in court fines

If the judge sentences you to felony probation, your sentence can last for up to five years. They will set probation conditions, by which you must abide. In addition to the conditions listed above, you must meet periodically with your probation officer for progress reports.

If you violate probation, a judge can cancel your probation and sentence you to prison for the recommended period under the law.

Other Consequences of a Conviction under PC 278

Any criminal conviction, whether for a misdemeanor or felony, leaves you with a criminal record that can affect your life for years. Criminal records are usually publicly available, meaning that anyone who runs a background check on you will know about the conviction. Important people, like potential employers, landlords, loan lenders, and insurance companies, can use this information against you. While a misdemeanor conviction remains on your record for ten years, a felony conviction can stay for much longer. This means that, even if you change your behavior, you could still face dire consequences following this conviction.

A felony conviction may affect you even more if you are an immigrant living in California. Some convictions have serious immigration consequences, mainly convictions for crimes of moral turpitude or aggravated felonies. Child abduction can fall in any of those categories, based on the circumstances of your case. If it does, you could be deported or marked as inadmissible to the United States after completing your sentence.

A felony conviction for child abduction will affect your gun rights. This will affect your ability to own, possess, or purchase a firearm. The ban on your gun rights is usually for life, meaning that you must surrender even the firearms you already have after the conviction.

The Expungement of a Child Abduction Conviction Record

Fortunately, you can benefit from such legal tools as an expungement to avoid the severe consequences of a criminal conviction on your record. Expungement eliminates the negative implications and some consequences of a damaging criminal record. However, it is only available for some crimes, and not others.

To qualify for expungement, you must petition the court to expunge the conviction record from your criminal background. The court must be the same one that heard and determined your case. Also, you must file this petition after completing your sentence. You must not be serving another sentence or be on probation for another crime. The judge will review your petition to decide whether to grant or deny it.

If the judge grants your petition, your conviction record will appear as expunged. This may minimize its impact on some aspects of your life, including your professional life.

Expunging a misdemeanor conviction is more straightforward, especially if you were sentenced to probation. You need legal help if you want to expunge a felony. Working with a competent criminal attorney also improves your chances of obtaining a favorable outcome.

Fighting a Child Abduction Charge

An arrest for child abduction does not automatically mean that you are guilty. The law allows you to defend yourself for a fair resolution of your case. You can do this with the help of a skilled criminal defense attorney. In addition to being your legal representative, an attorney can help fight your charges during trial. They can weaken the prosecutor’s case or convince the court to dismiss or reduce your charges. Here are some of the strategies that can help:

You Have Legal Custody Over The Child

If you are accused of abducting a child for whom you have legal custody, this defense strategy can work in your favor. You only need to show the court that you have legal custody over them. You can present documents to support that. Your attorney’s role in this case is to ensure that you have the proof you need on time for the trial. They can use their legal connections to ensure you have solid evidence to counter the allegations against you.

You Rescued the Child from an Abductor

If you are accused of abducting a child, and you were merely rescuing them from an abductor, you are not guilty of child abduction. This can happen if you witness a child abduction, and you act in the child’s best interests to protect them or prevent the abduction. It could be that you took the child before the abduction happened, or you snatched them from their abductor.

Again, you need to prove this to avoid a conviction and its severe consequences. A competent attorney will ensure there is solid proof, like pictures, CCTV footage, or statements from witnesses or the child, to back your claim. Additionally, stating that you did not have any malicious intent towards the child or their legal guardian can also be helpful. If this defense works, the court will dismiss your charges.

You Did Not Have a Malicious Intent

Having a malicious intent is a critical element of child abduction. The prosecutor must prove that by abducting a child, you intended to annoy, injure, or disturb the child’s legal custodian. If this was not your intention, and you can prove it, the court can dismiss your charges.

Having malicious intent also means that you acted with unlawful intent. However, a defense that proves that your actions were in good faith could suffice. For example, if you were in joint custody, and you become confused as to the time and place you should exchange custody with your child’s other parent, you can convince the court that the confusion was genuine and not malicious to have your charges dismissed.

You can also avoid a conviction if you convince the court that you reasonably believed that taking the child into your custody at the time was in their best interests. This can work if you think that the child was being abused or neglected, and you took immediate action to remove them from a hostile environment before taking legal action. If this defense strategy works, the court will dismiss your charges.

You Had the Legal Guardian’s Consent

If you had the legal guardian’s consent to take the child away for a few hours or days, you are not truly guilty of child abduction. The legal guardian may have been confused, or they could have forgotten giving you consent to be with the child. Also, if the child has more than one legal guardian, their other parent may file a charge against you without knowing that you had the other legal guardian’s consent to have the child.

Confusion like this can result in false criminal charges, even when you had good intentions to take the child away. However, you need solid evidence, including a statement from the legal guardian who gave you consent, to prove your innocence in court. You can also demonstrate that you did not have any malicious intent for a favorable resolution. If this works, the judge will dismiss your charges.

Find an Experienced Criminal Attorney Near Me

If you face child abduction charges in Los Angeles, whether misdemeanor or felony, the penalties and other consequences can be dire. You need a solid defense to avoid a conviction or have your charges reduced to less severe charges. This can work if you engage a competent criminal defense attorney. They can negotiate a plea deal or use the best criminal defense strategies to fight for the best outcome in your case.

We can help you after your arrest for child abduction at CCLG: Los Angeles Criminal Attorney. We can explain your charges, potential penalties, your options, and the best defense to achieve a reasonable outcome. We will also defend your rights and offer the support you need to overcome your stress and anxiety. Call us at 323-922-3418 to learn more about your legal situation and our services.