Although the terms “kidnapping” and “abduction” are often used interchangeably, legally speaking, they can be two different, distinct criminal offenses in some states. Both crimes are serious felonies. Kidnapping is the forcible stealing or carrying away of a person by force, threat, deceit, or with intent to cause the kidnapped person harm.
Abduction involves persuading a person to come with you (usually a child that is known to the abductor), taking a person by fraud, or taking a person by open force or violence. Both terms refer to the unlawful detainment or taking of one person by another. The term abduction is usually used in reference to a family relationship, such as when one parent abducts his or her child from the other parent.
Kidnapping is more often used to describe a person taking a stranger against that person’s will and with no lawful authority. In the state of Illinois, kidnapping and abduction are separate crimes. The Illinois kidnapping statute is found at 720 ILCS 5/10-1 in the Criminal Code, while the abduction statute is found at 720 ILCS 5/10-5 in the Criminal Code.