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all reasonable inferences from the evidence must be allowed in favor
of the State. Jackson, 232 Ill. 2d at 281.
The kidnapping and aggravated kidnapping statutes make it a
Class X felony for an individual to knowingly and secretly confine a
child under the age of 13 years against her will. 720 ILCS
5/10–1(a)(1), (b), 10–2(a)(2), (b) (West 2006). Under this theory of
kidnapping, secret confinement is a necessary element. People v.
Siguenza-Brito, 235 Ill. 2d 213, 227 (2009). We review de novo the
construction of a statutory element. People v. Davison, 233 Ill. 2d 30,
40 (2009).
Although the statute does not define secret confinement, this court
has defined the term “secret” as concealed, hidden, or not made
public. Siguenza-Brito, 235 Ill. 2d at 227. In turn, the term
“confinement” is defined as the act of imprisoning or restraining
someone. People v. Phelps, 211 Ill. 2d 1, 8 (2004). It is settled that
the secret confinement element of kidnapping may be shown by
evidence of the secrecy of the confinement or the secrecy of the
location of the confinement. Siguenza-Brito, 235 Ill. 2d at 227;
Phelps, 211 Ill. 2d at 8; People v. Pasch, 152 Ill. 2d 133, 187 (1992);
People v. Enoch, 122 Ill. 2d 176, 195 (1988); Mulcahey, 72 Ill. 2d at
285.
We are also mindful of the purpose of the statutory element of
secret confinement. At common law, kidnapping was a misdemeanor
offense “defined simply as the unlawful confinement and
transportation of another out of the country.” 3 Wayne R. LaFave,
Substantive Criminal Law §18.1(a), at 4 (2d ed. 2003). The offense
was concerned with the “evil” of isolation, that “the victim would
almost inevitably suffer a very lengthy, if not permanent, isolation
from his or her normal society.” John L. Diamond, Kidnapping: A
Modern Definition, 13 Am. J. Crim. L. 1, 31 (Fall 1985).
As kidnapping became a statutory offense in the United States,
some state legislatures, including Illinois’s, added a requirement that
the victim be secretly confined. 3 Wayne R. LaFave, Substantive
Criminal Law §18.1(a), at 4 (2d ed. 2003). In these states, the idea of
isolation of the victim from the public is central to the element of
“secret confinement.” In other words, confinement is secret where it
“serves to isolate or insulate the victim from meaningful contact or
communication with the public, that is, when the confinement is in a
