What You Need to Know About Parental Child Abduction Laws in California
Parental child abduction is a serious crime. Here’s what you need to know about parental child abduction laws in California.
Parental child abduction laws can be found in the California Penal Code, which states the punishments for various crimes, including child abandonment and neglect, child rape, and child abduction.
What Constitutes Parental Child Abduction?
California Penal Code Section 278.5 states that “every person who takes, entices away, keeps, withholds, or conceals a child and maliciously deprives a lawful custodian of a right to custody, or a person of a right to visitation, shall be punished…”
A “person”, as defined by the Penal Code, includes a parent or an agent of the parent. “Keeps” and “withholds” are both defined by the Penal Code as retaining the physical possession of the child, regardless of if the child resists or objects.
What is the Punishment for Parental Child Abduction?
Under California Penal Code Section 278.5, every person who commits parental child abduction will be imprisoned in a county jail for up to one year, fined up to $1,000, or both, if a misdemeanor. If a felony, every person who commits parental child abduction will be imprisoned for up to four years, fined up to $10,000, or both.
Related: Parental Kidnapping in California: What You Need to Know
The court takes the following factors into consideration when evaluating parental child abduction cases, and whether the defendant is facing a misdemeanor or a felony charge:
- The child was exposed to a significant risk of physical injury or sickness
- The child was taken outside of the United States
- The child has not been returned to a legal custodian
- The defendant inflicted or threatened to inflict physical harm on a parent or legal custodian of the child, or on the child, at the time of or during the parental abduction
- The defendant harmed or abandoned the child during the parental abduction
- The defendant previously abducted or threatened to abduct the child
- The defendant significantly changed the child’s name or appearance
- The defendant denied the child education during the abduction
- The length of the abduction
- The child’s age
Good Faith and Reasonable Belief
If the defendant can successfully prove that they took, enticed away, kept, withheld, or concealed the child because they had “good faith and reasonable belief” that the child would suffer immediate physical harm or emotional trauma if left with the other parent, California Penal Code Section 278.5 no longer applies. The same applies if the child was a previous victim of domestic violence and the defendant can prove they had “good faith and reasonable belief.”
If the defendant abducted the child with “good faith and reasonable belief,” they must do the following within a reasonable time from the taking, enticing away, keeping, withholding, or concealing:
- Make a report to the Office of the District Attorney in the county where the child previously lived.
- Commence a custody proceeding in a court of competent jurisdiction.
- Inform the district attorney’s office of changes in address or phone numbers of the person and child.
A “reasonable time” is considered by the California Penal Code to be at least 10 days to make a report to the Office of the District Attorney, and at least 30 days to commence a custody proceeding.
Related: How to Fight Parental Child Abduction Charges in California
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