People v. Leonard

OPINION OF THE COURT

Smith, J.

This case raises the question of whether it is possible for a parent who has custodial rights to a child to be guilty of kidnapping that child. We hold that it is possible, and that it happened here, where defendant used his baby daughter as a hostage, threatening to kill her if the police approached him.

I

Defendant had a romantic relationship with a woman whom we will call Mary, which ended a few days after their daughter was born. Mary then moved with the baby from Brooklyn, where she and defendant had both been living, to Ulster County. There was no court order…