AST August 2018 Magazine Aug 2018 Final (8.14.18) | Page 37

Federal
Volume 26 laws
August 2018 Edition
• Federal law (42 U.S.C.
§ 5772) defines a
“missing child” as
“any individual less
than 18 years of age
whose whereabouts
are unknown to such
individual”s legal
custodian.”
• Regardless of the rea-
son why a child goes
missing, federal law
requires law enforce-
ment agencies to
respond in a specific way.
• The International Parental Kidnapping
• Federal law prohibits law enforcement agen-
Crime Act (“IPKCA”) (18 U.S.C. § 1204 )
cies from establishing or maintaining a waiting
makes it a crime to remove or attempt to
period before accepting a missing child report
remove a child younger than 16 years old
(42 U.S.C. § 5780).
from the U.S. or to retain a child who is
• Federal law also requires law enforcement
in the U.S., with the intent to obstruct the
agencies to enter the missing child’s informa-
lawful exercise of parental rights.
tion into the FBI’s National Crime Informa-
tion Center database and state law enforce-
ment system database within two hours of
receiving a missing child report (42 U.S.C. §
5780).
• The Federal International Child Abduc-
tion Remedies Act (ICARA) (42 U.S.C. §§
11601-11610) implements the Hague
Convention and authorizes state and fed-
eral courts to hear cases under this treaty
when a child has been unlawfully brought
into or retained in the United States.
• Congress has clarified, through the Extradition
Treaties Interpretation Act of 1998, that U.S. au-
thorities shall interpret the term “kidnapping”
to include parental kidnapping in any criminal
extradition treaty to which the United States is
a party.
The Fugitive Felon Act (18 U.S.C. § 1073) autho-
rizes federal authorities to assist with the appre-
hension of state law fugitives, including those
charged with parental kidnapping, through the
issuance of a federal Unlawful Flight to Avoid
Prosecution (UFAP) warrant.
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