---
title: O.C.G.A. § 16-5-40. Kidnapping.
collection: code
id: 16-5-40
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 16-5-40 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/16-5-40
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/16-5-40.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/16-5-40/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t16-ch1-6-(v14)-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=e7841a34_0#page=119
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md
version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: CRIMES AND OFFENSES / CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON / KIDNAPPING, FALSE IMPRISONMENT, AND RELATED OFFENSES
---

# O.C.G.A. § 16-5-40. Kidnapping.

(a) A person commits the offense of kidnapping when such person abducts or steals away another person without lawful authority or warrant and holds such other person against his or her will.

(b)(1) For the offense of kidnapping to occur, slight movement shall be sufficient; provided, however, that any such slight movement of another person which occurs while in the commission of any other offense shall not constitute the offense of kidnapping if such movement is merely incidental to such other offense.

(2) Movement shall not be considered merely incidental to another offense if it:

(A) Conceals or isolates the victim;

(B) Makes the commission of the other offense substantially easier;

(C) Lessens the risk of detection; or

(D) Is for the purpose of avoiding apprehension.

(c) The offense of kidnapping shall be considered a separate offense and shall not merge with any other offense.

(d) A person convicted of the offense of kidnapping shall be punished by:

(1) Imprisonment for not less than ten nor more than 20 years if the kidnapping involved a victim who was 14 years of age or older;

(2) Imprisonment for life or by a split sentence that is a term of imprisonment for not less than 25 years and not exceeding life imprisonment, followed by probation for life, if the kidnapping involved a victim who is under 14 years of age;

(2.1)(A) As used in this paragraph, the term “sexual felony” shall have the same meaning as set forth in paragraph (2) of subsection (j) of Code Section 16-5-21.

(B) Any person having been previously convicted of a sexual felony who is convicted of the offense of kidnapping which involves a victim who is under 14 years of age, except by a parent, shall be punished by imprisonment for life or a split sentence that is a term of imprisonment followed by probation for life. As a condition of probation, the court shall impose the requirement of electronic monitoring as set forth in paragraph (14) of subsection (a) of Code Section 42-8-35;

(3) Life imprisonment or death if the kidnapping was for ransom; or

(4) Life imprisonment or death if the person kidnapped received bodily injury.

(e) Any person convicted under this Code section shall, in addition, be subject to the sentencing and punishment provisions of Code Sections 17-10-6.1 and 17-10-7.

(f) The offense of kidnapping is declared to be a continuous offense, and venue may be in any county where the accused exercises dominion or control over the person of another.

## History

Laws 1833, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 788.; Code 1863, §§ 4266, 4267; Code 1868, §§ 4301, 4302; Code 1873, §§ 4367, 4368; Ga. L. 1876, p. 39, § 1; Ga. L. 1880-81, p. 74, § 1; Code 1882, §§ 4367, 4368; Penal Code 1895, §§ 109, 110; Penal Code 1910, §§ 109, 110; Code 1933, §§ 26-1601, 26-1602, 26-1603; Ga. L. 1937, p. 489, § 1; Ga. L. 1953, Nov.-Dec. Sess., p. 99, § 1; Code 1933, § 26-1311, enacted by Ga. L. 1968, p. 1249, § 1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 970, § 1; Ga. L. 1994, p. 1959, § 4; Ga. L. 2006, p. 379, § 5/HB 1059; Ga. L. 2009, p. 331, § 1/HB 575; Ga. L. 2023, p. 637, § 3-2/HB 188, effective May 4, 2023.

## Editor's Notes

Ga. L. 2023, p. 637, § 1-1/HB 188, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as ‘Mariam’s Law.’”

Ga. L. 2023, p. 637, § 7-1/HB 188, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that the punishment provisions of paragraph (d)(2.1) of this Code section shall apply to all offenses committed on and after July 1, 2023.

## Law Reviews

For article, “The Thirteenth Amendment and Human Trafficking: Lessons & Limitations,” see 36 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 1005 (2020).

For article, “Preventing Trafficking Through New Global Governance Over Labor Migration,” see 36 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 1027 (2020).

For article, “The Public Health Ap-proach to Human Trafficking Prevention,” see 36 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 1059 (2020).

## Amendments

The 2023 amendment, effective May 4, 2023, substituted “under 14 years of age” for “less than 14 years of age” in paragraph (d)(2) and added paragraph (d)(2.1). See Editor’s notes for applicability.