A. A person commits abduction of a child from a state agency if, knowing or having reason to know that a child is entrusted by authority of law to the custody of a state agency, the person does either of the following:

Attorney's Note

Under the Arizona Laws, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class 3 felonyup to 7 yearsup to $150,000
Class 6 felonyup to 1 1/2 yearsup to $150,000
For details, see § 13-702
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Terms Used In Arizona Laws 13-1310

  • Felony: means an offense for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment in the custody of the state department of corrections is authorized by any law of this state. See Arizona Laws 13-105
  • including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • Person: means a human being and, as the context requires, an enterprise, a public or private corporation, an unincorporated association, a partnership, a firm, a society, a government, a governmental authority or an individual or entity capable of holding a legal or beneficial interest in property. See Arizona Laws 13-105
  • Physical injury: means the impairment of physical condition. See Arizona Laws 13-105

1. Takes, entices or keeps the child from the lawful custody of the state agency.

2. Intentionally fails or refuses to immediately return or impedes the immediate return of a child to the lawful custody of the state agency, including at the expiration of visitation or access.

B. A violation of subsection A, paragraph 2 of this section is a class 5 felony. A violation of subsection A, paragraph 1 of this section is:

1. A class 3 felony if the child is taken, enticed or kept from the lawful custody of the state agency and is taken outside of this state.

2. A class 4 felony if the child is taken, enticed or kept from the lawful custody of the state agency but the child remains in this state at all times.

3. A class 6 felony if the person voluntarily returns the child without physical injury not later than forty-eight hours after the person takes, entices or keeps the child from the lawful custody of the state agency.

C. For the purposes of this section, "state agency" means the department of child safety or the department of juvenile corrections.