Child Abduction Prevention

Under Wyoming law, abduction means taking, keeping, or hiding a child if the person who does that is breaking or ignoring someone else’s custody or visitation rights.

Wyoming Statute 20-8-102 says:

• “Abduction” means the wrongful removal or wrongful retention of a child.
• “Wrongful removal” means the taking of a child that breaches rights of custody or visitation given or recognized under the law of this state.
• “Wrongful retention” means the keeping or concealing of a child that breaches rights of custody or visitation given or recognized under the law of this state.

This is a way that courts can try to help keep kids safe.

The Child Abduction Prevention process can be used to ask the court for help if you think there is a real and likely risk that someone is going to abduct a child.

This is a serious legal process.  If you use it for reasons other than preventing an abduction, you could face legal consequences. It’s important to understand which situations this process is appropriate for, and it’s important to think honestly about whether this process is the one you should use in your situation.

If a judge decides that an Abduction Prevention Order is needed, the Order will include rules and restrictions intended to make it less likely the child will be abducted.  There are many kinds of rules and restrictions the judge can include.  Here are a few examples: requiring the person who is being restricted to notify the court before traveling with the child, preventing the person from getting a passport for the child, or prohibiting the person from picking the child up from school.  Law enforcement officers can be involved if the person doesn’t follow the rules in the Order.

The Order cannot guarantee an abduction won’t happen; but it can make it harder for the restricted person to abduct the child, and it can make it easier for law enforcement to stop the person if they try to abduct the child.

Yes.

The law does not require you to have any official decision from a court that grants you custody or visitation.  However, only someone who has the legal right to ask for custody or visitation can ask for an Abduction Prevention Order.  Usually, that will be a legal parent (biological or adoptive) or a legal guardian.  If you have a different relationship to the child, you might choose to talk about your concerns with someone from the child’s family.

Think carefully about your situation.  If you think there is a risk that someone is going to abduct a child and you have the necessary relationship to the child, you can file a Petition for an Abduction Prevention Order.

This process cannot be used to replace a child custody or visitation case.  If you need to start a custody, visitation, or divorce case, you can find forms and instructions on the Wyoming Judicial Branch website Family Law forms page (wyocourts.gov/self-help-forms/).

It’s important to understand that an Abduction Prevention Order is NOT the same thing as an Order of Protection (also called a restraining order or protective order).  Depending on your situation, you may want to ask the Court for both kinds of help.

You can learn about Orders of Protection on the Wyoming Judicial Branch website here: wyocourts.gov/legal-help-by-topic/domestic-violence/.  The website also has forms you can use for the Order of Protection process.

For help developing a safety plan or to learn more about protection orders and how to get one, contact your local domestic violence program. These resources can help:

• Local domestic violence programs: https://www.wyomingdvsa.org/programs.
• Information about safety planning: https://www.thehotline.org/plan-for-safety/.
• Wyoming Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault: 307-755-0992
• Wyoming Division of Victim’s Services: 888-996-8816
• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233; TTY 800-787-3224 (Help is available in multiple languages.)

Maybe.

You do not need to have a family law case to ask for an Abduction Prevention Order.

If you already have a family law case, and you need the court to know that there is the risk of an abduction, you may be able to file a Petition for an Abduction Prevention Order into your ongoing case.  The court where your family law case was filed will decide if the abduction prevention case will be separate.

This process cannot be used to replace a child custody or visitation case.  If you need to start a custody, visitation, or divorce case, you can find forms and instructions on the Wyoming Judicial Branch website Family Law forms page (wyocourts.gov/self-help-forms/).