Kidnapping

The abduction of any human being, regardless of age. Initially used as a term in Colonial America to describe the abduction of children for use as servants, kidnapping is a felonious charge. To kidnap someone means to hold the person against his or her will. It can include false imprisonment, detainment of the person without legal authority, which is punishable as a crime and/or tort, depending on individual circumstances. Kidnapping is a serious crime and will become a federal matter if the victim is taken out of the state. Some victims may experience Stockholm syndrome, a psychological disorder in which victims empathize with their capture. In response to child abductions, most states in the United States participate in the Amber Alert System (media notifications to the public that a child has been kidnapped). For more information, see Soothill, Francis, and Ackerley (2007).