UCMJ Article 125: Kidnapping

Kidnapping under the UCMJ is wrongfully seizing, confining, inveigling, decoying, or carrying away another person and then holding that person against his or her will. No ransom or other purpose is required, but the holding must be more than momentary or incidental. The maximum is a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for life without eligibility for parole.

Seizing someone, then holding them

10 U.S.C. § 925: “Any person subject to this chapter who wrongfully (1) seizes, confines, inveigles, decoys, or carries away another person; and (2) holds the other person against that person’s will; shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”

The Manual for Courts-Martial (2024 ed.), Part IV, ¶ 74.b, turns this into three elements: the accused seized, confined, inveigled, decoyed, or carried away a certain person; the accused then held that person against his or her will; and the accused did so wrongfully.

Inveigling and decoying: taking by deception

Kidnapping does not require force. Under ¶ 74.c(1):

• Inveigle means “to lure, lead astray, or entice by false representations or other deceitful means.” The Manual’s example: enticing someone into a car with a false promise to take the person to a certain destination.
• Decoy means “to entice or lure by means of some fraud, trick, or temptation.” The example: luring a child into a trap with candy.

A holding that is more than incidental

“Held” means detained. “The holding must be more than a momentary or incidental detention” (¶ 74.c(2)). The Manual draws the line with two pairs:

• A robber who holds the victim at gunpoint while the victim hands over a wallet, or a rapist who throws the victim to the ground, does not commit kidnapping by those acts alone.
• If, before or after the robbery or rape, the victim is involuntarily transported “some substantial distance, as from a housing area to a remote area of the base or post,” that may be kidnapping in addition to the other offense.

Against the person’s will

The holding must be involuntary, whether through force, mental or physical coercion, or false representations (¶ 74.c(3)). If the victim cannot form a recognizable will, such as a very young child or a mentally incompetent person, the holding must be against the will of the parents or legal guardian. Whether the victim had a means of exit or escape, and whether the accused used threats or force, are both relevant to voluntariness.

No purpose required

“The holding need not have been for financial or personal gain or for any other particular purpose” (¶ 74.c(4)). A ransom motive may be an aggravating circumstance at sentencing under R.C.M. 1001(b)(4), but it is not an element.

Lawful apprehension is not kidnapping

“Wrongfully” means without justification or excuse (¶ 74.c(5)). A law enforcement official may lawfully apprehend and detain someone reasonably believed to have committed an offense, by force if reasonably necessary. An official who misuses that authority to apprehend someone “is not guilty of kidnapping, but may be guilty of unlawful detention” under Article 97.

Life without eligibility for parole

Under ¶ 74.d, the maximum is a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for life without eligibility for parole.

Special trial counsel; no time limit for a child victim

Section 925 is one of the sections listed in 10 U.S.C. § 801(17)(A), so kidnapping is a covered offense and its referral, dismissal, and plea decisions belong to special trial counsel under 10 U.S.C. § 824a. Under 10 U.S.C. § 843(a), “kidnapping of a child” may be tried at any time without limitation. Kidnapping of an adult is not on that list.

Kidnapping alongside other charges

The Manual’s own examples show kidnapping charged in addition to robbery under Article 122 or rape under Article 120 when the victim is moved a substantial distance. Holding someone during the robbery or rape itself, without more, does not add a kidnapping charge.

Sources

• 10 U.S.C. § 925, Article 125, Kidnapping (Cornell LII)
• 10 U.S.C. § 801, Article 1, Definitions (Cornell LII)
• 10 U.S.C. § 843, Article 43, Statute of limitations (Cornell LII)
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Part IV, ¶ 74

General information about military law, not legal advice for any individual case.