When you have been arrested for violating an order of protection or a restraining order then you need to hire an experienced criminal defense lawyer who can provide the best legal defense for a violent crime.
Could I be charged with kidnapping?
If you unlawfully restrain a person then you can be convicted of a class A misdemeanor. However, if the person restrained is under the age of seventeen then the offense is elevated to a state jail felony. If you expose the restrained person to a substantial risk of serious bodily injury, then the charge can be enhanced to a third-degree felony.
If you remove the restrained person then you could be convicted of kidnapping which a third-degree felony. If you kidnap a person with the intent to terrorize them, hold them for ransom, use as a human shield or hostage, or if you use deadly weapon to facilitate the abduction, then you can be convicted of aggravated kidnaping which is a first-degree felony.
Sec. 20.02. UNLAWFUL RESTRAINT. (a) person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly restrains another person. (b) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that: (1) the person restrained was a child younger than 14 years of age; (2) the actor was a relative of the child; and (3) the actor’s sole intent was to assume lawful control of the child. (c) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is: (1) a state jail felony if the person restrained was a child younger than 17 years of age; (2) a felony of the third degree if: (A) the actor recklessly exposes the victim to a substantial risk of serious bodily injury; (B) the actor restrains an individual the actor knows is a public servant while the public servant is lawfully discharging an official duty or in retaliation or on account of an exercise of official power or performance of an official duty as a public servant; or (C) the actor while in custody restrains any other person; or (3) notwithstanding Subdivision (2)(B), a felony of the second degree if the actor restrains an individual the actor knows is a peace officer or judge while the officer or judge is lawfully discharging an official duty or in retaliation or on account of an exercise of official power or performance of an official duty as a peace officer or judge. (d) It is no offense to detain or move another under this section when it is for the purpose of effecting a lawful arrest or detaining an individual lawfully arrested. (e) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that: (1) the person restrained was a child who is 14 years of age or older and younger than 17 years of age; (2) the actor does not restrain the child by force, intimidation, or deception; and (3) the actor is not more than three years older than the child.
Sec. 20.03. KIDNAPPING. (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly abducts another person. (b) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that: (1) the abduction was not coupled with intent to use or to threaten to use deadly force; (2) the actor was a relative of the person abducted; and (3) the actor’s sole intent was to assume lawful control of the victim. (c) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree.
Sec. 20.04. AGGRAVATED KIDNAPPING. (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly abducts another person with the intent to: (1) hold him for ransom or reward; (2) use him as a shield or hostage; (3) facilitate the commission of a felony or the flight after the attempt or commission of a felony; (4) inflict bodily injury on him or violate or abuse him sexually; (5) terrorize him or a third person; or (6) interfere with the performance of any governmental or political function. (b) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally or knowingly abducts another person and uses or exhibits a deadly weapon during the commission of the offense. (c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), an offense under this section is a felony of the first degree. (d) At the punishment stage of a trial, the defendant may raise the issue as to whether he voluntarily released the victim in a safe place. If the defendant proves the issue in the affirmative by a preponderance of the evidence, the offense is a felony of the second degree.
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