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Child Abduction

Penal Code 278 PC - Child Abduction

It's a grave crime to take another individual or individual's child with the intent of stealing the child. This is a serious offense and is prosecuted rigorously in California under child abduction laws.

This Penal Code is designed to protect children from being abducted or being concealed from their parents, often in domestic violence-related situations. A lot of times where I see California Penal Code Section 280 coming into play is when a child is taken by someone either not the parent or by another parent who – when there is a child custody dispute, that's when a lot of these cases are filed related to taking children impermissibly.

If a parent has the legal right to have a child and another parent is trying just to use law enforcement to get the person in trouble so they can gain an advantage in a custody battle in Los Angeles – that would be an improper use of Penal Code Section 280.

If you're being charged with a violation of Penal Code Section 280, child abduction under Penal Code Section 278, or anything in that realm, it's crucial that you seek the best attorney you can find. This step is crucial in ensuring you have the necessary support and guidance during this challenging time.

The courts play a crucial role in protecting children and determining what is in their best interest. They are committed to prosecuting individuals who attempt to disrupt the parent-child relationship or who take a child for illegal purposes, whether it's related to sexual exploitation or any other unlawful act. This commitment to justice should provide reassurance to those facing child abduction charges.

A lot of times, though, the case is filed as a kidnapping charge, which is a more severe charge, so you don't always see this California Penal Code Section 278 utilized when it comes to cases in Los Angeles County.

But, if someone is taking another person's child against their will and does not have any right to take the child – obviously, they can prosecute them in one of the Los Angeles courts for violation of Penal Code Section 278/Child Stealing.

Defenses To Child Stealing

Child Stealing

A lot of times, I see these child stealing or abduction cases in Los Angeles where parents are having a custody battle related to their children. One parent decides to take the child, and the other parent says that they didn't have the right to take the child based on whatever the divorce agreement or custody agreement allows, and so they call the police, and now you have a child-stealing case.

If you, as a parent, believe that you have the authority to take your child and there's no court order preventing you from doing so, this could serve as a defense in a child stealing case.

As long as you're not trying to take the child and keep him forever or away from the other parent, you would potentially have a defense.

You should avoid talking to the police about this if they're investigating or charging you with Penal Code Section 278/Child Stealing.

You're going to want to get in front of a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who's done these types of cases before and knows how to defend them – knows what defenses work and what defenses don't.

I've rarely seen people talking to the police in child-stealing cases or other cases and giving their side of the story. I rarely see that work, and often, the police just twist their words and turn it around, using what they say against them and ending up filing a case against them anyway.

Reviewing Your Case With an Experienced Criminal Lawyer

If the police mischaracterize something you say in a child stealing case, that is their most robust evidence against you. So, really, you don't want to talk to the police if you're being investigated for child stealing in violation of Penal Code Section 278.

You want to talk to a criminal defense attorney and let them figure out precisely the best moves. Could you look at the child custody order to see if the issue centers around that?

The more severe child stealing cases are the ones where the person does not know the child and is enticing the child or taking a child off the street – these are the ones that are going to be typically prosecuted by sex crime attorneys because they're going to figure that the person has the intent to commit some sort of a sexual act against a child.

So, suppose you're charged with child stealing, and they're using Penal Code Section 278. In that case, you will want to sit down with an attorney, go over all the elements of that Penal Code Section, and decide whether or not they have the evidence to prosecute you.

If they don't have the evidence, you must set the case for a jury trial. You and your attorney are going to work together as a team to defend the case because if you get convicted of one of these cases related to child stealing or kidnapping – anything in that realm – you're looking at the state prison. You're looking at many years in state prison, so you must sit down with a criminal defense attorney who has done these cases before.

Next Step: Preparing Your Defense

What I do is have you come in. We go over everything – we go over the facts and details of the case – and then we figure out our exact plan on how the case will be defended, what you can do to help, what I'm going to do.

This will give you an idea of what you're looking at and facing related to the case. Then, we figure out how to put together the best defense to get you out of the criminal justice system as fast as possible. Obviously, being charged with child stealing and then using Penal Code Section 278 will result in a high bail and a tough time getting out of custody.

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