Kidnapping in Tennessee
Kidnappings seem to be increasingly dominating the national headlines, partly due to the fact that kidnapping is a serious crime that often has devastating effects, but also partly due to the fact that the kidnappings themselves are usually carried out in a bizarre manner. One bizarre kidnapping case from Tennessee has recently found a prominent place on the national news scene.
A baby in Nashville was kidnapped after a lady posed as an immigration official to gain entrance into the mother’s home, stabbed the mother several times, and fled with the baby. Remarkably, the baby was found a few days later and is alive and well. Apparently, immigrant families are frequent targets for such ploys, because the attackers feel that immigrants are less likely to report the kidnappings to the police since they may be illegal immigrants themselves. According to the linked article, the perpetrators of such kidnappings are often women who have faked a pregnancy in order to salvage a relationship or for some other reason and then have to find a way to acquire a baby in order to maintain the façade. This may seem like a good idea to someone who feels like they are in a desperate situation, but kidnapping in Tennessee is met with serious consequences.
The act of kidnapping in Tennessee can be punished as kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, or especially aggravated kidnapping according to the circumstances of the offense. Tennessee law provides that kidnapping a victim who is under the age of thirteen is automatically considered especially aggravated kidnapping and is a Class A Felony, punishable by up to sixty years in prison. It should be noted that the offense of kidnapping is applicable even if no harm is done to either the victim or the family. It is the act of taking or confining the victim that constitutes the offense; actual physical harm to any party involved is irrelevant for the purposes of determining the applicable kidnapping charge.
Sources: http://news.aol.com/article/baby-snatched-from-tennessee-mother/694319; TCA section 39-13-305; TCA section 40-35-111.
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