Wis. Stat. § 940.31

Current through Acts 2023-2024, ch. 272

Section 940.31 - Kidnapping

(1) Whoever does any of the following is guilty of a Class C felony:

(a) By force or threat of imminent force carries another from one place to another without his or her consent and with intent to cause him or her to be secretly confined or imprisoned or to be carried out of this state or to be held to service against his or her will; or

(b) By force or threat of imminent force seizes or confines another without his or her consent and with intent to cause him or her to be secretly confined or imprisoned or to be carried out of this state or to be held to service against his or her will; or

(c) By deceit induces another to go from one place to another with intent to cause him or her to be secretly confined or imprisoned or to be carried out of this state or to be held to service against his or her will.

(2)

(a) Except as provided in par. (b), whoever violates sub. (1) with intent to cause another to transfer property in order to obtain the release of the victim is guilty of a Class B felony.

(b) Whoever violates sub. (1) with intent to cause another to transfer property in order to obtain the release of the victim is guilty of a Class C felony if the victim is released without permanent physical injury prior to the time the first witness is sworn at the trial.

Wis. Stat. § 940.31

1977 c. 173; 1993 a. 194, 486; 2001 a. 109.

A conviction under sub. (1) (c) does not require proof of express or implied misrepresentations. State v. Dalton, 98 Wis. 2d 725, 298 N.W.2d 398 (Ct. App. 1980). "Service," as used in this section includes acts done at the command of another and clearly embraces sexual acts performed at the command of another. State v. Clement, 153 Wis. 2d 287, 450 N.W.2d 789 (Ct. App. 1989). Parental immunity does not extend to an agent acting for the parent. State v. Simplot, 180 Wis. 2d 383, 509 N.W.2d 338 (Ct. App. 1993). Forced movement of a person from one part of a building to another satisfies the "carries another from one place to another" element of sub. (1) (a). State v. Wagner, 191 Wis. 2d 322, 528 N.W.2d 85 (Ct. App. 1995). Confinement is the intentional, unlawful, and uncontested restraint by one person of the physical liberty of another. State v. Burroughs, 2002 WI App 18, 250 Wis. 2d 180, 640 N.W.2d 190, 01-0738. Sub. (2) (b) allows for a lesser degree of kidnapping if two additional elements are present: 1) the victim is released prior to the first witness testimony, and 2) there is no permanent physical injury to the victim. Once there is some evidence of the mitigating factor of no permanent injury, the burden is on the state to prove the absence of that factor and a court accepting a guilty plea to a charged kidnapping offense under sub. (2) (a) should ascertain a factual basis for excluding the lesser-related offense under sub. (2) (b). State v. Ravesteijn, 2006 WI App 250, 297 Wis. 2d 663, 727 N.W.2d 53, 05-1955.