Kidnapping and Sex Trafficking in “Taken” has a Unique Set of Consequences
The highly successful 2008 action thriller Taken, starring Liam Neeson, earned great critical praise for its electrifying stunts and moving plot. Audiences across the world marveled watching the main character, a former CIA operative, track down his kidnapped daughter in a wild goose chase around Europe.
In the film, Neeson’s 17-year-old daughter and her friend are kidnapped while vacationing in France. Their captors broke into their apartment, grabbed the two of them, and eventually forced them into a human trafficking ring for sex slavery.
Taken shines a light onto the growing human trafficking problem in the United States. These would-be criminals would have faced very serious charges for this crime if convicted under California law.
Let’s take a look at how the crimes from Taken are defined and the consequences for each of them…
Kidnapping (18 U.S. Code Section 1201)
When the girls’ captors snatched them from their apartment in the beginning of the movie, they would have been committing a federal crime in violation of 18 U.S. Code Section 1201 by:
- Unlawfully seizing, confining, and abducting another person;
- Willfully moving them a substantial distance in interstate or foreign commerce; and
- Failing to release them within a 24-hour period
By storming into the girls’ apartment with weapons, threatening them, and using physical force, the Taken criminals would have been unlawfully seizing and abducting the girls.
Kidnapping is a federal crime and is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. You can be sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in federal prison if you kidnapped a child under the age of 18 . In extreme cases such as the one in Taken, kidnapping can carry a sentence of life in prison. Here are some situations that can elevate the seriousness of the crime in the eyes of Federal law:
- A demand for ransom came with the kidnapping;
- The victim was an internationally protected person such as a representative or employee of the United States; or
- The victim of the kidnapping suffered serious bodily harm or death.
Sex Trafficking of Children (18 U.S. Code Section 1591)
After capturing the two girls, the kidnappers in Taken held them against their will, force-fed them powerful depressants, and eventually sold them into a sex trafficking ring. This is a violation of 18 U.S. Code Section 1591:
- Knowingly enticing, harboring, transporting, or obtaining another person; and
- Benefiting financially or receiving anything of value from it.
What if Liam Neeson’s character had not beaten all of his daughter’s alleged abusers to a bloody pulp? How would the prosecution determine if they could charge the alleged kidnappers with sex trafficking? Following a suspected human trafficking violation, law enforcement will look at several indicators:
- The person shows signs of trauma, fatigue, injury, or other evidence of poor care;
- The person is visibly scared, and/or afraid to talk; or
- The person does not have freedom of movement.
If the victim was a minor between 14 and 17 years old at the time that he or she was forced into engaging in a commercial sex act, you will face 10 years to life in federal prison. If the victim was under the age of 14, you face 15 years to life.
Contact Wallin & Klarich if You are Facing Charges of Kidnapping or Human Trafficking
If you or a loved on have been accused of kidnapping or violating human trafficking laws, the consequences can be very severe. These are very serious allegations that can place you in federal prison for the rest of your life. At Wallin & Klarich, our attorneys have been successfully defending our clients accused of these crimes for over 40 years.
With offices located in Orange County, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Torrance, Riverside, West Covina, Victorville, Ventura, San Diego and Sherman Oaks, one of our skilled and knowledgeable attorneys is available to help you no matter where you work or live. We can examine all of the evidence surrounding your individual case and develop strategic defenses to get you the best possible result.
Call us today at (877) 4-NO-JAIL or (877) 466-5245 for a free telephone consultation. We will get through this together.
