§ 10-5 — Child abduction

(a) For purposes of this Section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) "Child" means a person who, at the time the alleged violation occurred, was under the age of 18 or was a person with a severe or profound intellectual disability. (2) "Detains" means taking or retaining physical custody of a child, whether or not the child resists or objects. (2.1) "Express consent" means oral or written permission that is positive, direct, and unequivocal, requiring no inference or implication to supply its meaning. (2.2) "Luring" means any knowing act to solicit, entice, tempt, or attempt to attract the minor. (3) "Lawful custodian" means a person or persons granted legal custody of a child or entitled to physical possession of a child pursuant to a court order. It is presumed that, when the parties have never been married to each other, the mother has legal custody of the child unless a valid court order states otherwise. If an adjudication of paternity has been completed and the father has been assigned support obligations or visitation rights, such a paternity order should, for the purposes of this Section, be considered a valid court order granting custody to the mother. (4) "Putative father" means a man who has a reasonable belief that he is the father of a child born of a woman who is not his wife. (5) "Unlawful purpose" means any misdemeanor or felony violation of State law or a similar federal or sister state law or local ordinance. (b) A person commits the offense of child abduction when he or she does any one of the following: (1) Intentionally violates any terms of a valid court order granting sole or joint custody, care, or possession to another by concealing or detaining the child or removing the child from the jurisdiction of the court. (2) Intentionally violates a court order prohibiting the person from concealing or detaining the child or removing the child from the jurisdiction of the court. (3) Intentionally conceals, detains, or removes the child without the consent of the mother or lawful custodian of the child if the person is a putative father and either: (A) the paternity of the child has not been legally established or (B) the paternity of the child has been legally established but no orders relating to custody have been entered. Notwithstanding the presumption created by paragraph (3) of subsection (a), however, a mother commits child abduction when she intentionally conceals or removes a child, whom she has abandoned or relinquished custody of, from an unadjudicated father who has provided sole ongoing care and custody of the child in her absence. (4) Intentionally conceals or removes the child from a parent after filing a petition or being served with process in an action affecting marriage or paternity but prior to the issuance of a temporary or final order determining custody. (5) At the expiration of visitation rights outside the State, intentionally fails or refuses to return or impedes the return of the child to the lawful custodian in Illinois. (6) Being a parent of the child, and if the parents of that child are or have been married and there has been no court order of custody, knowingly conceals the child for 15 days, and fails to make reasonable attempts within the 15-day period to notify the other parent as to the specific whereabouts of the child, including a means by which to contact the child, or to arrange reasonable visitation or contact with the child. It is not a violation of this Section for a person fleeing domestic violence to take the child with him or her to housing provided by a domestic violence program. (7) Being a parent of the child, and if the parents of the child are or have been married and there has been no court order of custody, knowingly conceals, detains, or removes the child with physical force or threat of physical force. (8) Knowingly conceals, detains, or removes the child for payment or promise of payment at the instruction of a person who has no legal right to custody. (9) Knowingly retains in this State for 30 days a child removed from another state without the consent of the lawful custodian or in violation of a valid court order of custody. (10) Intentionally lures or attempts to lure a child: (A) under the age of 17 or (B) while traveling to or from a primary or secondary school into a motor vehicle, building, housetrailer, or dwelling place without the consent of the child's parent or lawful custodian for other than a lawful purpose. For the purposes of this item (10), the trier of fact may infer that luring or attempted luring of a child under the age of 17 into a motor vehicle, building, housetrailer, or dwelling place without the express consent of the child's parent or lawful custodian or with the intent to avoid the express consent of the child's parent or lawful custodian was for other than a lawful purpose. (11) With the intent to obstruct or prevent efforts to locate the child victim of a child abduction, knowingly destroys, alters, conceals, or disguises physical evidence or furnishes false information. (c) It is an affirmative defense to subsections (b)(1) through (b)(10) of this Section that: (1) the person had custody of the child pursuant to a court order granting legal custody or visitation rights that existed at the time of the alleged violation; (2) the person had physical custody of the child pursuant to a court order granting legal custody or visitation rights and failed to return the child as a result of circumstances beyond his or her control, and the person notified and disclosed to the other parent or legal custodian the specific whereabouts of the child and a means by which the child could be contacted or made a reasonable attempt to notify the other parent or lawful custodian of the child of those circumstances and made the disclosure within 24 hours after the visitation period had expired and returned the child as soon as possible; (3) the person was fleeing an incidence or pattern of domestic violence; or (4) the person lured or attempted to lure a child under the age of 17 into a motor vehicle, building, housetrailer, or dwelling place for a lawful purpose in prosecutions under paragraph (10) of subsection (b). (d) A person convicted of child abduction under this Section is guilty of a Class 4 felony. A person convicted of child abduction under subsection (b)(10) shall undergo a sex offender evaluation prior to a sentence being imposed. A person convicted of a second or subsequent violation of paragraph (10) of subsection (b) of this Section is guilty of a Class 3 felony. A person convicted of child abduction under subsection (b)(10) when the person has a prior conviction of a sex offense as defined in the Sex Offender Registration Act or any substantially similar federal, Uniform Code of Military Justice, sister state, or foreign government offense is guilty of a Class 2 felony. It is a factor in aggravation under subsections (b)(1) through (b)(10) of this Section for which a court may impose a more severe sentence under Section 5-8-1 (730 ILCS 5/5-8-1) or Article 4.5 of Chapter V of the Unified Code of Corrections if, upon sentencing, the court finds evidence of any of the following aggravating factors: (1) that the defendant abused or neglected the child following the concealment, detention, or removal of the child; (2) that the defendant inflicted or threatened to inflict physical harm on a parent or lawful custodian of the child or on the child with intent to cause that parent or lawful custodian to discontinue criminal prosecution of the defendant under this Section; (3) that the defendant demanded payment in exchange for return of the child or demanded that he or she be relieved of the financial or legal obligation to support the child in exchange for return of the child; (4) that the defendant has previously been convicted of child abduction; (5) that the defendant committed the abduction while armed with a deadly weapon or the taking of the child resulted in serious bodily injury to another; or (6) that the defendant committed the abduction while in a school, regardless of the time of day or time of year; in a playground; on any conveyance owned, leased, or contracted by a school to transport students to or from school or a school related activity; on the real property of a school; or on a public way within 1,000 feet of the real property comprising any school or playground. For purposes of this paragraph (6), "playground" means a piece of land owned or controlled by a unit of local government that is designated by the unit of local government for use solely or primarily for children's recreation; and "school" means a public or private elementary or secondary school, community college, college, or university. (e) The court may order the child to be returned to the parent or lawful custodian from whom the child was concealed, detained, or removed. In addition to any sentence imposed, the court may assess any reasonable expense incurred in searching for or returning the child against any person convicted of violating this Section. (f) Nothing contained in this Section shall be construed to limit the court's contempt power. (g) Every law enforcement officer investigating an alleged incident of child abduction shall make a written police report of any bona fide allegation and the disposition of that investigation. Every police report completed pursuant to this Section shall be compiled and recorded within the meaning of Section 5.1 of the Criminal Identification Act. (h) Whenever a law enforcement officer has reasons to believe a child abduction has occurred, she or he shall provide the lawful custodian a summary of her or his rights under this Code, including the procedures and relief available to her or him. (i) If during the course of an investigation under this Section the child is found in the physical custody of the defendant or another, the law enforcement officer shall return the child to the parent or lawful custodian from whom the child was concealed, detained, or removed, unless there is good cause for the law enforcement officer or the Department of Children and Family Services to retain temporary protective custody of the child pursuant to the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)