What is False Imprisonment?

• False Imprisonment is when a person knowingly confines or detains another person without their permission and no legal authority to do so.

• This charge is often charged when one person keeps another person from leaving a room, home, or even a car.

• False Imprisonment is a Class 1 Misdemeanor, which carries a penalty of up to 364 days in jail, and a fine of up to $1,000.

• If the person charged used force or the threat of force, or detained the person for more than 12 hours, then the False Imprisonment charge is a Class 5 Felony, which carries a penalty of up to 3 years in the Department of Correction, and a fine of up to $100,000.

C.R.S. 18-3-303 - False Imprisonment

(1) Any person who knowingly confines or detains another without the other’s consent and without proper legal authority commits false imprisonment. This section does not apply to a peace officer acting in good faith within the scope of his or her duties.

(2) False imprisonment is a class 2 misdemeanor; except that false imprisonment is a class 5 felony if:

(a)

(I) The person uses force or threat of force to confine or detain the other person; and

(II) The person confines or detains the other person for twelve hours or longer; or

(b)

(I) The person confines or detains another person less than eighteen years of age in a locked or barricaded room under circumstances that cause bodily injury or serious emotional distress; and

(II) Such confinement or detention was part of a continued pattern of cruel punishment or unreasonable isolation or confinement of the child; or

(c) The person confines or detains another person less than eighteen years of age by means of tying, caging, chaining, or otherwise using similar physical restraints to restrict that person’s freedom of movement under circumstances that cause bodily injury or serious emotional distress.

(3) Notwithstanding section 13-90-107 or any other provision of law, the statutory privilege between a patient and a physician or between an individual and his or her spouse is not available for the purpose of excluding or refusing testimony in any prosecution for a violation of this section where the conditions described in subsection (2)(b) or (2)(c) of this section are alleged.