Pen. Code, § 278.5 · Chapter 4. Child Abduction
Pen. Code, § 278.5
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) Every person who takes, entices away, keeps, withholds, or conceals a child and maliciously deprives a lawful custodian of a right to custody, or a person of a right to visitation, shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for 16 months, or two or three years, a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) Nothing contained in this section limits the court’s contempt power.
(c) A custody order obtained after the taking, enticing away, keeping, withholding, or concealing of a child does not constitute a defense to a crime charged under this section.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 314. (AB 109) Effective April 4, 2011. Operative October 1, 2011, by Sec. 636 of Ch. 15, as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 68.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=278.5.
- Text hash
- sha256 fbc8db709544e920999ad115d296ff99d35e4b163894788c440962d8343a4832
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Penal Code
Cited by 12 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Pen. Code, § 278.5. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Government Code
Penal Code
- Pen. Code, § 278.6Printed as Section 278 or 278.5
- Pen. Code, § 278.7Printed as Section 278.5
- Pen. Code, § 279Printed as Section 278 or 278.5
- Pen. Code, § 279.1Printed as Sections 278 and 278.5
- Pen. Code, § 279.5Printed as Section 278 or 278.5
- Pen. Code, § 279.6Printed as Section 278 or 278.5
- Pen. Code, § 667.8Printed as Section 277, 278, or 278.5
- Pen. Code, § 784.5Printed as Section 277, 278, or 278.5
- Pen. Code, § 868.5Printed as Section 211, 215, 220, 236.1, 240, 242, 243.4, 245, 261, 266, 266a, 266b, 266c, 266d, 266e, 266f, 266g, 266h, 266i, 266j, 266k, 267, 269, 273a, 273d, 273.5, 273.6, 278, 278.5, 285, 286, 287, 288, 288.
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.