Kidnapping & Stalking Attorney in Charlotte
Mecklenburg County Lawyers for Stalking & Kidnapping Allegations
Stalking and kidnapping are felony charges, and both are defined more narrowly in North Carolina law than the words suggest in everyday use. What the state has to prove in cases like these is fixed by statute, and it applies the same way whether an accusation comes from a stranger, a neighbor, or a former partner.
The circumstances behind these charges vary widely. Some involve people who have never met. Others come out of a relationship that ended badly, a custody exchange, or a dispute already before a family court judge. The defense begins in the same place either way: what was actually alleged, and what the statute requires of the state.
DeCurtins Law Office defends clients against stalking and kidnapping charges in Mecklenburg County, in cases involving strangers, former partners, custody disputes, and protective orders already in place. We work through the timeline in detail, assess each allegation against the requirements of the statute, and coordinate with any family court case running alongside it. Consultations are free.
Bring the timeline and the filings to someone who can measure them against the statute. Call (704) 313-1131 or contact us online to schedule a consultation with a kidnapping and stalking attorney in Charlotte.
Stalking Versus Harassment Under North Carolina Law
The difference between stalking and harassment is a strict legal test rather than a simple matter of degree. Under North Carolina law, a stalking charge requires a specific "course of conduct." This means the state must prove there were two or more acts directed at a specific person that the accused knew, or should have known, would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or suffer substantial emotional distress.
The stalking statute covers a wide range of actions, including:
- Following or lying in wait
- Monitoring, observing, or surveilling
- Repeated communication by any method
- Appearing at a home, workplace, or school
- Interfering with someone's property
- Communicating about a person to third parties
An isolated instance of contact does not constitute a course of conduct. Furthermore, any conduct that serves a legitimate, lawful purpose falls completely outside the scope of the stalking statute. This distinction is exactly where these cases are won.
Our defense team meticulously reconstructs the timeline message by message. We establish which contacts had a valid legal basis, such as discussing a shared child or addressing an unresolved financial matter, and we aggressively challenge the prosecution on whether the strict "reasonable person" standard was ever actually met.
Can a Parent Be Charged with Kidnapping Their Own Child?
A parent asking whether they can be charged for taking their own child is usually asking the wrong question. What truly matters is whether a custody order exists and exactly what it says.
North Carolina makes it a Class I felony to move a child under 16 out of state with intent to violate a custody order, and keeping that child away beyond 72 hours is treated as evidence the intent was there from the start. Contrary to popular belief, crossing a state line does not by itself make the case federal. The federal kidnapping statute expressly excludes a minor taken by a parent, which is why Congress passed a separate law reaching only children removed from the country.
Taking matters into your own hands is never the answer. Emergency circumstances should be addressed before a judge through a formal legal motion, rather than resolved by simply fleeing with the child. The criminal case that follows is judged strictly on what a parent did, not on why they felt it was necessary.
When parental kidnapping charges already exist, our legal team moves quickly to review the custody order, analyze communication records, and reconstruct the timeline.
First-Degree, Second-Degree, & Federal Kidnapping Charges
North Carolina splits kidnapping into two degrees, and the dividing line is narrower than most people expect.
A charge becomes first degree when the person was not released in a safe place, suffered serious injury, or was sexually assaulted. Everything else is second degree. Holding someone for ransom or to commit another crime is part of what the state must prove before the conduct counts as kidnapping at all, which hands the defense one more element to attack.
