Parental kidnapping
When there is no court order about who gets custody of a child, a parent or other person with custody rights breaks this law if they take, hide, or keep the child away from someone else who also has custody rights — and they do it on purpose, without a good reason. The punishment gets more serious the longer the child is hidden: less than 60 days is a class E felony, 60 to 119 days is a class D felony, and 120 days or more is a class B felony. A judge can also order the person to pay back money the other parent spent trying to find or get the child back.
Classifications stated in the statute. Actual outcomes vary.
565.153. — . — 1. In the absence of a determining rights of or to a child, a person having a right of custody of the child commits the of parental kidnapping if he or she removes, takes, detains, conceals, or away that child within or without the state, without , and with the intent to the of another person or a also having a custody right to that child.
2. Parental kidnapping is a , unless committed by detaining or concealing the whereabouts of the child for:
(1) Not less than sixty days but not longer than one hundred nineteen days, in which case, the offense is a ;
(2) Not less than one hundred twenty days, in which case, the offense is a .
3. A subsequently obtained court order for custody or visitation shall not affect the of this section.
4. Upon a for an offense under this section, the court may, in addition to or any sentence or fine imposed, as against the and in favor of the or parent, any reasonable expenses incurred by the legal custodian or parent in searching for or returning the child.
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Source & history notes
(L. 1988 H.B. 1272, et al. § 2, A.L. 2008 S.B. 714, et al., A.L. 2014 S.B. 491) Effective 1-01-17
Legal information, not legal advice. Always confirm with the official source at revisor.mo.gov.