The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2024 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Title 13 : Crimes and Criminal Procedure
Chapter 055 : Kidnapping
(Cite as: 13 V.S.A. § 2404)-
§ 2404. Definitions
As used in this chapter:
(1) “Lawful custodian” means a parent, guardian, or other person responsible by authority of law for the care, custody, or control of another.
(2) “Relative” means a parent, stepparent, ancestor, descendant, sibling, uncle, or aunt, including a relative of the same degree through civil marriage or adoption.
(3) “Restrain” means to restrict substantially the movement of another person without the person’s consent or other lawful authority by:
(A) removing the restrained person from the person’s residence or place of business, or from a hospital or school; or
(B) moving the restrained person a substantial distance from the place where the restriction on the person’s movement commenced; or
(C) confining the restrained person for a substantial period either in the place where the restriction commences or in a place to which the person has been moved.
(4) A restraint is “without consent” if it is accomplished:
(A) by acquiescence of the restrained person, if the restrained person is under 16 years of age and the restrained person’s lawful custodian has not acquiesced in the movement or confinement; or
(B) by force, threat, or deception. (Added 1989, No. 293 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; amended 2009, No. 3, § 12a.)
