Maryland Kidnapping Laws

Baltimore Kidnapping Defense Lawyers

Any crime committed against a child in Maryland is incredibly serious and warrants the help of a skilled and experienced criminal defense attorney. Kidnapping, also referred to as child abduction, is a very severe charge to face in Maryland and it is also much more common than one would think. Attempting to face a kidnapping charge, child abduction charge or a child pornography charge without the help of an experienced Essex Maryland criminal defense attorney is very risky and can jeopardize every aspect of your life. Our Columbia criminal lawyers are very experienced and have an in depth knowledge of Maryland kidnapping laws.

If you are facing kidnapping charges of any type in the Aberdeen, Annapolis, Baltimore, Bel Air, Ellicott City, Essex, Glen Burnie or Towson, Maryland areas please contact our Towson, Maryland criminal defense lawyers today for a free consultation.

Under Maryland Criminal Law Code Ann. § 3-502, a person is guilty of kidnapping if he, or she, by force or fraud, carry or cause a person to be carried in or outside Maryland with the intent to have the person carried or concealed in or outside Maryland.

There are 3 aspects in a kidnapping case. They are (1) a restraint of the victim’s freedom (2) against his or her will (3) aggravated by carrying the victim to some other place.[i]

According to Maryland Kidnapping Laws kidnapping is a felony and on conviction the offender is subject to imprisonment not to exceed 30 years.

Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) is responsible for maintenance of Maryland’s Criminal Justice Information Repository, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commissions, the Emergency Number Systems Board and many other valuable criminal justice functions. DPSCS protects the public, its employees, and detainees and offenders under its supervision.

Maryland Child Abduction & Kidnapping Facts

As having a child abducted is one of the worst fears a parent can have many studies have been done in an effort to help parents take precautions against having their child abducted. Statistic done by the online journal www.parents.com the following facts about child abductions in the United States and the state of Maryland has comparable statistics:

Every 40 seconds a child becomes missing or is abducted somewhere in the United States.
In 2001, 840,279 people (adults and children) were reported missing to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC). The FBI estimates that 85 to 90 percent of those (roughly 750,000 people or 2,000 per day) reported missing were children. The vast majority of these cases are resolved within hours.
Based on the identity of the perpetrator, there are three distinct types of kidnapping: kidnapping by a relative of the victim or “family kidnapping” (49 percent), kidnapping by an acquaintance of the victim or “acquaintance kidnapping” (27 percent), and kidnapping by a stranger to the victim or “stranger kidnapping” (24 percent).
Family kidnapping is committed primarily by parents, involves a larger percentage of female perpetrators (43 percent) than other types of kidnapping offenses, occurs more frequently to children under 6, equally victimizes juveniles of both sexes, and most often originates in the home.
Acquaintance kidnapping involves a comparatively high percentage of juvenile perpetrators, has the largest percentage of female and teenage victims, is more often associated with other crimes (especially sexual and physical assault), occurs at homes and residences, and has the highest percentage of injured victims.
Stranger kidnapping victimizes more females than males, occurs primarily at outdoor locations, victimizes both teenagers and school-age children, is associated with sexual assaults in the case of girl victims and robberies in the case of boy victims (although not exclusively so), and is the type of kidnapping most likely to involve the use of a firearm.
Only about one child out of each 10,000 missing children reported to the local police is not found alive. However, about 20 percent of the children reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in nonfamily abductions are not found alive.
In 80 percent of abductions by strangers, the first contact between the child and the abductor occurs within a quarter mile of the child’s home.
Most potential abductors grab their victims on the street or try to lure them into their vehicles.
About 74 percent of the victims of nonfamily child abduction are girls.
Acting quickly is critical. Seventy-four percent of abducted children who are ultimately murdered are dead within three hours of the abduction.
One in five children 10 to 17 years old receive unwanted sexual solicitations online.
In a 1998 study of parents’ worries by pediatricians at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, nearly three-quarters of parents said they feared their children might be abducted. One-third of parents said this was a frequent worry — a degree of fear greater than that held for any other concern, including car accidents, sports injuries, or drug addiction.

Contact A Baltimore Kidnapping Defense Attorney

If you have been charged with the crime of kidnapping in the Annapolis, Baltimore or Bel Air, Maryland areas then you could face serious penalties for conviction. It is extremely important that you retain the skillful legal assistance of a Towson, Maryland criminal defense lawyer in order to prevent wrongful conviction and to maximize your chances of a favorable outcome of your case in court. The Essex, Maryland criminal defense attorneys at our firm have many years of experience in serving those accused of crimes in the Annapolis, Glen Burnie, Essex, Bel Air, Aberdeen, Towson and the surrounding areas. Contact them today for skillful assistance regarding your pending child abduction charges.

Mr. Turnbull serves many areas of Maryland including Towson, Annapolis, Abingdon, Aberdeen, Bel Air, Carney, Catonsville, Cockeysville, Dundalk, Edgemere, Ellicott City, Essex,Glen Burnie, Havre De Grace, Luthersville, Owings Mills, Timonium, Pikesville, Randallstown, Reistertown, Odenton, Pasadena, Crownsville, Linthicum, Edgewater, Severna Park, Crofton, Jessup, Crofton, Columbia, Joppatowne, Edgewood, Fallston, Churchville, Columbia, Scaggsville, Fulton, Elkridge, NorthLaurel, White Marsh, Baltimore, North East, Chesapeake City and Elkton, Maryland.