kidnapping law in west virginia?

United States
December 8, 2006 10:21pm CST
My friend is being charged with kidnapping his girlfriend. But the thing is she willing went with him and while gone they got into a domestic dispute (which was usual) and this time they went to far and when he returned her home her parents, not her, filed charges. Im not taking up for him but I don't believe the punishment he is facing fits the crime. This kind of thing between them happened quite frequently. he is facing 15 years and a felony. I am just trying to educate my self and hope I can help somehow.
17 responses
• United States
10 Dec 06
hey there,,.First off i dont know how old they are..thats really the most important part of my answer..but..if she was under 18..and he is over,..they can do that,,.because her still being a minor is a huge factor..but i dont know the ages..but thats my thinking since its a long sentence for kidnapping..Her parenys must have just enough..if my girl kept leaving like that..I would have done the same..its our job to protect our children untill theer adults..and hell even after then i will still try to protect my son..
• United States
10 Dec 06
there has to be more to this story. It sounds as though something has been left out. How old is your friend and how old is the girlfriend?
@epizzahut (2078)
• China
10 Dec 06
I dont know west virginia law but I think it doesn't fit the terms of kidnapping in my country china. one reason is the girl is not forced,she like to go with your friend,she dont lost freedom, as you said. this doesn't fit the important aspect of kidnapping.the other is her age,i guess she is not too young she should know what she was doing.
@lissaj (532)
• United States
10 Dec 06
If the girl in underage, then he should have known something would happen. Even if they got along and DIDN'T come back, her parents could have filed charges. If she is over the age of consent, then she probably lied to her parents about what happened because she is pissed. Either way, your friend is in trouble. I would advise for him to get a good lawyer and hope for the best.
@meljessxena (2315)
• Australia
10 Dec 06
well depending on the age of the girl, to if he should be charged with it or not. but as you say she went willing, i think if the girl is 16 + she can do what she wants and goes where she wants and well he shouldnt be charged. but under 16 well she still classed as a child or young teenager.
@malsun (1528)
• United States
10 Dec 06
behind bars - crime
It is sad that only he is being punished.. but then youngsters should be aware of such consequenses and just take care in dealing with such relationships. The incident has ruined his life.
@kawillow74 (1416)
• United States
9 Dec 06
Ok there are very impotant things you are leaving out like what is the ages of these 2 I would say she is a miner and he isn't . If he is over 18 and she isn't then he deserves what ever punshment he gets.
@zman87 (634)
• United States
9 Dec 06
Wow that sounds completely retarded but yeah if she is underage and he is not then that would explain it but i still think 15 years is to much and if she is 18 she is allowed to make her own choices so they wouldn't be able to do anything.............
• India
9 Dec 06
Hello friend, First of all let me say that you are a very good friend.I would like to have you as my friend also... frinds like you are rare to find.... keep it up To the topic.. your frind should have been careful about such a thing happening... now everything depends on the girls view of the subject.If she says that she went on her own will then he will be freed and there will be no problem.But if she does not do that your friend is in real trouble... That is only if your friends girlfriend is above 18. otherwise her parents have authortiy over her and her views can be supressed to an extent.And they will be able to get a judgement against your friend... That cant be stopped. All this is only if you guys cant convince her and her parents the real scenario.So go for that first because that is the best possible thing to be done.Otherwise all the court stuff and all will be messy... so take my advice and go and try negotiating with the girl and her parents... if she is above 18 years then try her only, the only valid stuff then will be her statement that she went on her will... By the way she would have done this in the anger of that moment and she also would be feeling bad now. So capitalize on that feelings and go and talk to her on your friends behalf so that you can help him.... Go man rush to that girl and make her understand
• United States
9 Dec 06
well first how old are they. and if she went with him her parents need to leave it be but if she is young like under 16 he should of known better sorry but thats thee truth
@milestone (787)
• India
9 Dec 06
She should think twice, anyways your friend should have guessed what she was gonna do and filed charges before she did. Thats what i would do. 15 years? Poor guy. I dont think he did anything wrong. Well anywayz
• Ireland
9 Dec 06
Your details are very vague so it is difficult to give advice. Who instigated that they take off. Where did they go and for how long. It could hardly be classed as kidnapping if they just went off on a day trip and he did take her home again. Has your friend spoken to a lawyer as this would be the best person to advise your friend. Fifteen years and a felony seems a rediculous punishment particulary if the girl went of her own accord. Hopefully your friend will get things sorted out and when he does, he should give this girl the boot.
@chrisie (207)
• United States
9 Dec 06
Huh. That's interesting.... is this girl underage? I cant imagine her parents being able to charge kidnapping charges unless she is in fact, underage. If that's the case.. what the heck is she doing that for anyways?
@Goranimal (315)
• United States
9 Dec 06
you didnt give her age, nor his...is she under 18 and he over 18? More then likely the origanal charge of kidnapping will be downgraded depending on his past record if he has one. If its a common thing for them to getinto domestic disputes it sounds like they dont need to be together in the first place, who wants to be with someone that always wants to fight? and no its not love, its low self esteme.
@wmg2006 (5381)
• United States
9 Dec 06
If she is under age then the parents do have the right to charge him with kidnapping. Now just because he is facing 15 years does not mean he will get it. The standards of law are set as guidelines only, so each court will have something to go by and so every state in the union wil be on the same page. If we did not have guide lines then the punishment would not be fair for everyone. Some states would have harsher punishment for some people and others more lenient, like for family members. With that said, he has not been charged and he must be proven to have actually kidnapped her. All this will come out in court, the judge will decide if he really kidnapped her or if she went on her own free will. However, if she is under age it will not matter what she says because there are certain rules we all must follow pertaining to underage children. Depending on the court, he can get 15 years, but like I said previously this is just a standard guideline. The courts take into account of what really happened, is this his first offense, is he under age, etc. So do not get too upset until the verdict has actually come in. Thank goodness we do have courts who sort through this thing or he would have been killed on the spot by her parents, since they think they are right. I do not know the West Virginia law, but I do know Federal Law and this comes under federal kidnapping laws. So, go online and type your question in the search engines and see what you find. Just remember EVERYONE is innocent until proven guilty! It doesn't feel like that when we can be taken to court and have to prove our innocense, but I promise you in the eyes of the law you are innocent until you are proven without a DOUBT of being guilty!
@SimplyJo (1694)
• India
9 Dec 06
hey i got this off the net.. hope it helps.. this is just the basics of kidnapping..there are various laws you can look up online. Kidnapping is a considered a crime if a person has unlawfully removed another without consent from the place where he/she is. (So in your friends case, his gf went w/t him willingly)It is also considered kidnapping when a person has confined another person without his/her consent for a substantial period of time under five criteria. Holding the individual for ransom, reward, or any other act to be performed or not in order for him/her to be released Using the individual as a hostage or shield Interfering with performance of any governmental or political function Facilitating the commission of any felony or flight thereafter Inflicting physical injury on or terrorizing the victim or another So tell them they cannot lay hands on your friend if they KNOW what the laws are.
@silkkat (231)
• Canada
9 Dec 06
How old is she? If she is underage then I feel that he was in the wrong. 15 years maybe too much but he and she needs to realize this is unacceptable behaviour. If it was my daughter I definetly would like something to be done about it. It can't be made into a habit. The fear of a child missing no matter what the age is too much for any parent to bear. What if something went wrong?