District of Columbia · Through 2026-08-20 (D.C. Law 26-175)

D.C. Code § 16-1024: Penalties.

(a)
A person who violates any provision of § 16-1022 and who takes the child to a place within the District, or detains or conceals the child within the District of Columbia is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to fine not exceeding $250 or performance of community service not exceeding 240 hours, or both.

(b)
A person who violates any provision of § 16-1022 and who takes the child to a place outside the District or detains or conceals the child outside the District shall be punished as follows:
(1)
If the child is out of the custody of the lawful custodian for not more than 30 days, the person is guilty of a felony and on conviction is subject to a fine not more than the amount set forth in [§ 22-3571.01] or imprisonment for 6 months, or both, except that if the person releases the child without injury in a safe place prior to arrest, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not exceeding $250, or performance of community service not exceeding 240 hours, or imprisonment not exceeding 30 days, or a combination of all three.
(2)
If the child is out of the custody of the lawful custodian for more than 30 days, the person is guilty of a felony and on conviction is subject to a fine of not more than the amount set forth in [§ 22-3571.01] or imprisonment for 1 year, or both, except that if the person releases the child without injury in a safe place prior to arrest, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction, is subject to a fine not more than the amount set forth in [§ 22-3571.01] or imprisonment not exceeding 60 days, or both.

Where this section sits in the code

Title 16. Particular Actions, Proceedings and Matters. [Enacted title]
Chapter 10. Proceedings Regarding Intrafamily Offenses.
Subchapter II. Parental Kidnapping.

(a)

A person who violates any provision of § 16-1022 and who takes the child to a place within the District, or detains or conceals the child within the District of Columbia is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to fine not exceeding $250 or performance of community service not exceeding 240 hours, or both.

(b)

A person who violates any provision of § 16-1022 and who takes the child to a place outside the District or detains or conceals the child outside the District shall be punished as follows:

(1)

If the child is out of the custody of the lawful custodian for not more than 30 days, the person is guilty of a felony and on conviction is subject to a fine not more than the amount set forth in [§ 22-3571.01] or imprisonment for 6 months, or both, except that if the person releases the child without injury in a safe place prior to arrest, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not exceeding $250, or performance of community service not exceeding 240 hours, or imprisonment not exceeding 30 days, or a combination of all three.

(2)

If the child is out of the custody of the lawful custodian for more than 30 days, the person is guilty of a felony and on conviction is subject to a fine of not more than the amount set forth in [§ 22-3571.01] or imprisonment for 1 year, or both, except that if the person releases the child without injury in a safe place prior to arrest, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction, is subject to a fine not more than the amount set forth in [§ 22-3571.01] or imprisonment not exceeding 60 days, or both.

Collected 2026-08-29T05:44:07Z. Source file · JSON

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