WHAT IS AGREEMENT TO ABDUCT FROM CUSTODY IN TEXAS?
The Texas law against agreement to abduct from custody prohibits agreeing to pay someone to abduct a child under 18 years of age from another who has rightful custody.
WHAT IS THE AGREEMENT TO ABDUCT FROM CUSTODY LAW IN TEXAS?
Tex. Penal Code § 25.031. AGREEMENT TO ABDUCT FROM CUSTODY.
(a) A person commits an offense if the person agrees, for remuneration or the promise of remuneration, to abduct a child younger than 18 years of age by force, threat of force, misrepresentation, stealth, or unlawful entry, knowing that the child is under the care and control of a person having custody or physical possession of the child under a court order, including a temporary order, or under the care and control of another person who is exercising care and control with the consent of a person having custody or physical possession under a court order, including a temporary order.
(b) An offense under this section is a state jail felony.
WHAT IS THE PENALTY CLASS FOR AGREEMENT TO ABDUCT FROM CUSTODY IN TEXAS?
Agreeing to abduct a child from custody is a state jail felony, punishable by 180 days to two years in a state jail facility.
WHAT IS THE PUNISHMENT RANGE FOR AGREEMENT TO ABDUCT FROM CUSTODY IN TEXAS?
The punishment range for agreeing to abduct a child from custody, a state jail felony, is 180 days to two years in a state jail facility, and a maximum $10,000 fine.
WHAT ARE THE PENALTIES FOR AGREEMENT TO ABDUCT FROM CUSTODY IN TEXAS?
A person charged with agreement to abduct from custody may be eligible for probation after a conviction, or deferred adjudication without a conviction, for a period between two and five years, with the possibility of extending the community supervision period for up to ten years.
WHAT ARE THE DEFENSES TO AGREEMENT TO ABDUCT FROM CUSTODY IN TEXAS?
The statute does not authorize specific defenses to agreement to abduct from custody. A person accused thereof may assert any defense in an attempt to negate at least one of the elements the State must prove at trial. For example, an accused may argue he or she lacked the requisite knowledge or intent to commit the offense.
WHAT IS THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR AGREEMENT TO ABDUCT FROM CUSTODY IN TEXAS?
The limitation period for agreement to abduct from custody, a state jail felony, is three years.
AGREEMENT TO ABDUCT FROM CUSTODY IN TEXAS
The law prohibiting a person from agreeing to abduct a child from custody was enacted to protect children by discouraging people from planning to commit more serious offenses, such as interference with child custody, kidnapping and aggravated kidnapping.
TEXAS AGREEMENT TO ABDUCT FROM CUSTODY COURT CASES
There are few cases in Texas regarding agreement to abduct from custody, as people are more often charged with offenses such as interference with child custody.
- For example, in Dewalt v. State, the defendant and her ex-husband were involved in a custody dispute over their son. Prior to the court awarding the father sole custody, the mother took her son to her parents’ home an hour away, and contacted a friend to take them to Mexico if the court ruled adversely to her. She ultimately fled to Mexico with her son, and they were apprehended three years later.
The defendant was convicted of interference with child custody. Had her plan to flee been foiled, however, she could have been charged with agreement to abduct from custody.
