Abduction/Kidnapping Flashcards
In regards to abduction, how is the offenders intent different to that of someone who commits kidnapping?
Abduction offenders are often sexually motivated, whereas a kidnapping offender has the intent to imprison a person or hold them for ransom
What does unlawfully mean?
Unlawfully means without lawful justification or excuse
Define taking away
Taking away, generally refers to situations with the victim is physically removed from one place to another
Define detains?
Detaining is an active concept rather than a passive one it involves doing something to impose a constraint or restraint on the person detained
In R v Pryce what did they define detaining as?
Detaining is an active concept meaning to keep in confinement or custody. This is to be contrasted to the passive concept of harboring or me failure to handover.
Does the crimes act specify a minimum period for which a persons freedom must have been curtailed before they are deemed to have been detained?
No the crimes act does not specify a minimum period. Whether a person has been or has not been detained will therefore be a question effect and degree to be decided upon on the circumstances of each case
Define consent?
Consent as a persons, conscious and voluntary agreement to something desired, or proposed by another.
consent may be conveyed by words or conduct or both
Is taking away and detaining two separate things?
Yes, taking away and detaining are two separate and distinct acts and they are distinct offences
Define how people give consent when it’s obtained by fraud
The offender may deceive the victim into agreeing to a proposition by mystery representing the facts or their intentions.
EG R v Wellard with the offender gained the victims consent by representing himself as a police officer
How is consent obtained by duress?
A victim may agree to an offenders demands based on the fear of the consequences if they were to refuse.
Duress may rise from the actual implied threat of force to the victim, but can also include other forms of pressure or coercion
Define the two types of intention needed to commit an offence?
Firstly, there must be an intention to commit the act.
Secondly, there must be an intention to get a specific result
What are some examples of circumstantial evidence from which offenders intent may be inferred?
The offenders actions and words before during and after the event.
The surrounding circumstances.
The nature of the act itself
Does sexual connection have to occur to prove intent in abduction cases?
No, it is not necessary to prove that it actually occurred or was even attempted. The taking away of the person by the offender is the main thing to prove any subsequent marriage or sexual intercourse without consent would be the subject of a separate investigation.
Regards to kidnapping or abduction when is the offense complete?
The offence is complete, and the offender becomes criminally liable as soon as he detains the victim with one of the specified intents
Can the offenders intent be formed later during the course of offending
Yes, the intent need not be specified at the time. The victim is detained, and it can be formed later during the course of offending.