(a) Kidnapping is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three, five, or eight years.

(b) If the person kidnapped is under 14 years of age at the time of the commission of the crime, the kidnapping is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 5, 8, or 11 years. This subdivision is not applicable to the taking, detaining, or concealing, of a minor child by a biological parent, a natural father, as specified in § 7611 of the Family Code, an adoptive parent, or a person who has been granted access to the minor child by a court order.

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Terms Used In California Penal Code 208

  • county: includes "city and county". See California Penal Code 7
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See California Penal Code 7
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the district and territories. See California Penal Code 7

(c) In all cases in which probation is granted, the court shall, except in unusual cases where the interests of justice would best be served by a lesser penalty, require as a condition of the probation that the person be confined in the county jail for 12 months. If the court grants probation without requiring the defendant to be confined in the county jail for 12 months, it shall specify its reason or reasons for imposing a lesser penalty.

(Amended by Stats. 1997, Ch. 817, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1998.)