In a recent case, State v. Holloman, the North Carolina Court of Appeals held that the trial court erred by convicting the defendant of both first-degree kidnapping and sexual assault when the sexual assault raised the kidnapping to first-degree. Since the issue is a recurring one, let’s review the rules. A person is guilty of first-degree kidnapping when he or she (1) (a) confines, (b) restrains, or (c) removes from one place to another (2) a person (3) (a) without the person’s consent or, (b) if the person is under 16, without consent of the person’s parent or guardian, (4) for the purpose of (a) holding the victim as hostage, (b) holding the victim for ransom, (c) using the victim as a shield, (d) facilitating the commission of a felony, (e) facilitating flight following the commission of a felony, (f) doing serious bodily harm to the victim or any other person, (g) terrorizing the victim or any other person, (h) holding the victim in involuntary servitude in violation of G.S. 14-43.12, (i) trafficking another person in violation of G.S. 14‑43.11, or (j) subjecting or maintaining the victim for sexual servitude in violation of G.S. 14‑43.13 and (5) (a) does not release the victim in a safe place, (b) seriously injures the victim, or (c) sexually assaults the victim. Element (5) is what elevates a second-degree kidnapping to a first-degree kidnapping. Note that proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did any one of the acts stated in Element (5) will do it; the [...]
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