KIDNAPPING
NRS 200.310 Degrees.
- A person who willfully seizes, confines, inveigles, entices, decoys, abducts, conceals, kidnaps or carries away a person by any means whatsoever with the intent to hold or detain, or who holds or detains, the person for ransom, or reward, or for the purpose of committing sexual assault, extortion or robbery upon or from the person, or for the purpose of killing the person or inflicting substantial bodily harm upon him, or to exact from relatives, friends, or any other person any money or valuable thing for the return or disposition of the kidnapped person, and a person who leads, takes, entices, or carries away or detains any minor with the intent to keep, imprison, or confine him from his parents, guardians, or any other person having lawful custody of the minor, or with the intent to hold the minor to unlawful service, or perpetrate upon the person of the minor any unlawful act is guilty of kidnapping in the first degree which is a category A felony.
- A person who willfully and without authority of law seizes, inveigles, takes, carries away or kidnaps another person with the intent to keep the person secretly imprisoned within the State, or for the purpose of conveying the person out of the State without authority of law, or in any manner held to service or detained against his will, is guilty of kidnapping in the second degree which is a category B felony.
NRS 200.320 Kidnapping in first degree: Penalties. A person convicted of kidnapping in the first degree is guilty of a category A felony and shall be punished:
- Where the kidnapped person suffers substantial bodily harm during the act of kidnapping or the subsequent detention and confinement or in attempted escape or escape therefrom, by imprisonment in the state prison:
(a) For life without the possibility of parole;
(b) For life with the possibility of parole, with eligibility for parole beginning when a minimum of 15 years has been served; or
(c) For a definite term of 40 years, with eligibility for parole beginning when a minimum of 15 years has been served.
2. Where the kidnapped person suffers no substantial bodily harm as a result of the kidnapping, by imprisonment in the state prison:
(a) For life with the possibility of parole, with eligibility for parole beginning when a minimum of 5 years has been served; or
(b) For a definite term of 15 years, with eligibility for parole beginning when a minimum of 5 years has been served.
NRS 200.330 Kidnapping in second degree: Penalties. A person convicted of kidnapping in the second degree is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not more than 15 years, and may be further punished by a fine of not more than $15,000.
NRS 200.340 Penalty for aiding or abetting.
- A person who aids and abets kidnapping in the first degree is guilty of a category A felony and shall be punished for kidnapping in the first degree as provided in NRS 200.320.
- A person who aids and abets kidnapping in the second degree is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not more than 15 years.
NRS 200.350 Where proceedings may be instituted; consent is not defense.
- Any proceedings for kidnapping may be instituted either in the county where the offense was committed or in any county through or in which the person kidnapped or confined was taken or kept while under confinement or restraint.
- Upon the trial for violation of NRS 200.310 to 200.350, inclusive, the consent thereto of the person kidnapped or confined shall not be a defense unless it appears satisfactorily to the jury that such person was above the age of 18 years and that his consent was not extorted by threats, duress or fraud.
NRS 200.357 Law enforcement officer required to take child into protective custody if child in danger of being removed from jurisdiction. A law enforcement officer who is conducting an investigation or making an arrest concerning the abduction of a child shall take the child into protective custody if he reasonably believes that the child is in danger of being removed from the jurisdiction.
NRS 200.359 Detention, concealment or removal of child from person having lawful custody or from jurisdiction of court: Penalties; limitation on issuance of arrest warrant; restitution; exceptions.
- A person having a limited right of custody to a child by operation of law or pursuant to an order, judgment or decree of any court, including a judgment or decree which grants another person rights to custody or visitation of the child, or any parent having no right of custody to the child, who:
(a) In violation of an order, judgment or decree of any court willfully detains, conceals or removes the child from a parent, guardian or other person having lawful custody or a right of visitation of the child; or
(b) In the case of an order, judgment or decree of any court that does not specify when the right to physical custody or visitation is to be exercised, removes the child from the jurisdiction of the court without the consent of either the court or all persons who have the right to custody or visitation, is guilty of a category D felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130.
2. A parent who has joint legal custody of a child pursuant to NRS 125.465 shall not willfully conceal or remove the child from the custody of the other parent with the specific intent to deprive the other parent of the parent and child relationship. A person who violates this subsection shall be punished as provided in subsection 1.
3. If the mother of a child has primary physical custody pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 126.031, the father of the child shall not willfully conceal or remove the child from the physical custody of the mother. If the father of a child has primary physical custody pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 126.031, the mother of the child shall not willfully conceal or remove the child from the physical custody of the father. A person who violates this subsection shall be punished as provided in subsection 1.
4. Before an arrest warrant may be issued for a violation of this section, the court must find that:
(a) This is the home state of the child, as defined in NRS 125A.085; and
(b) There is cause to believe that the entry of a court order in a civil proceeding brought pursuant to chapter 125, 125A or 125C of NRS will not be effective to enforce the rights of the parties and would not be in the best interests of the child.
5. Upon conviction for a violation of this section, the court shall order the defendant to pay restitution for any expenses incurred in locating or recovering the child.
6. The prosecuting attorney may recommend to the judge that the defendant be sentenced as for a misdemeanor and the judge may impose such a sentence if he finds that:
(a) The defendant has no prior conviction for this offense and the child has suffered no substantial harm as a result of the offense; or
(b) The interests of justice require that the defendant be punished as for a misdemeanor.
7. A person who aids or abets any other person to violate this section shall be punished as provided in subsection 1.
8. This section does not apply to a person who detains, conceals or removes a child to protect the child from the imminent danger of abuse or neglect or to protect himself from imminent physical harm, and reported the detention, concealment or removal to a law enforcement agency or an agency which provides child welfare services within 24 hours after detaining, concealing or removing the child, or as soon as the circumstances allowed. As used in this subsection:
(a) “Abuse or neglect” has the meaning ascribed to it in paragraph (a) of subsection 4 of NRS 200.508.
(b) “Agency which provides child welfare services” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 432B.030.
