There's a lot of "if's" in this. And mind you we're talking state law, not federal law (if he's taken her across state lines it becomes federal and falls into those statutes). So the nuts and bolts is, it's a misdemeanor to kidnap anyone over the age of 13, with some caveats. Now it's a felony if the defendant had a weapon in his possession at the time, however if he doesn't injure her or let's her go, that will lessen the sentence again. With what happened in regards to this kidnapping there could be other charges levied and the longer he holds her the more likely they'll add those charges rather than take them away. Not that he's given a free pass, but the sooner he returns her the more the courts will look at that as taking responsibility and remorse and they'll reward that. That he used a computer and may have enticed her to leave isn't good, but even that will be overlooked if he returns her, especially if he is willing to enroll in a program to "help" himself. So there's lots of ifs and buts, depending on how long he keeps her, what condition she is when she is returned and whether or not she was well cared for during the imprisonment. And it matters if he took her across state lines. The main thing is, the longer this drags on the worse it is for him.
