Pa. Cons. Stat. » 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. (CRIMES AND OFFENSES) / Chapter 29
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2902 (2026)

 Unlawful restraint.

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§ 2902.  Unlawful restraint.

(a)  Offense defined.--Except as provided under subsection (b) or (c), a person commits a misdemeanor of the first degree if he knowingly:

(1)  restrains another unlawfully in circumstances exposing him to risk of serious bodily injury; or

(2)  holds another in a condition of involuntary servitude.

(b)  Unlawful restraint of a minor where offender is not victim's parent.--If the victim is a person under 18 years of age, a person who is not the victim's parent commits a felony of the second degree if he knowingly:

(1)  restrains another unlawfully in circumstances exposing him to risk of serious bodily injury; or

(2)  holds another in a condition of involuntary servitude.

(c)  Unlawful restraint of minor where offender is victim's parent.--If the victim is a person under 18 years of age, a parent of the victim commits a felony of the second degree if he knowingly:

(1)  restrains another unlawfully in circumstances exposing him to risk of serious bodily injury; or

(2)  holds another in a condition of involuntary servitude.

(d)  Definition.--As used in this section the term "parent" means a natural parent, stepparent, adoptive parent or guardian of a minor.

(Dec. 30, 1974, P.L.1120, No.361, eff. imd.; Dec. 20, 2000, P.L.721, No.98, eff. imd.; Dec. 20, 2011, P.L.446, No.111, eff. 60 days)

 

Cross References.  Section 2902 is referred to in section 6105 of this title; sections 5329, 6344 of Title 23 (Domestic Relations); section 9799.14 of Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 156 cases (23 in the last 5 years), 1976–2026 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Dillon, 925 A.2d 131 (Pa. 2007).
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Commonwealth v. Dillon, 925 A.2d 131 (Pa. 2007). · cites it 2× “[8] 18 Pa.C.S. § 2902. [9] 18 Pa.C.S. § 2701.”
Commonwealth v. Belgrave, 391 A.2d 662 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1978). · cites it 6× “" The crime of false imprisonment, on the other hand, is completed when a person "knowingly restrains another unlawfully so as to interfere substantially with his liberty.”
Commonwealth v. Schilling, 431 A.2d 1088 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1981). · cites it 5× “However, the judgments of sentence on these convictions are vacated, and the case is remanded to the lower court for resentencing solely on the conviction for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.”
Commonwealth v. Chester, 587 A.2d 1367 (Pa. 1991). · cites it 2× “[2] Argument was heard in the appeal of Frank Chester during our January, 1990, argument session. The argument in the appeal of Richard Laird was not heard until our October, 1990, argument session.”
Commonwealth v. Taylor, 876 A.2d 916 (Pa. 2005). · cites it 2× “§ 2706; three counts of unlawful restraint, 18 Pa.C.S. § 2902; four counts of simple assault, 18 Pa.”
Commonwealth v. Gatling, 807 A.2d 890 (Pa. 2002). · cites it 2× “§ 2903, and unlawful restraint, 18 Pa.C.S. § 2902, and one count each of indecent exposure, 18 Pa.”
Commonwealth v. Septak, 518 A.2d 1284 (Pa. 1986). · cites it 4× “The lower court's probationary sentence is not an abuse of discretion given the duration of the entire episode and appellee's brief and accidental involvement, appellee's background and character, employment status, family responsibilities, and avoidance of contact with…”
Commonwealth v. Rhoades, 8 A.3d 912 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2010). “18 Pa. Cons.Stat. Ann. §§ 2701(a)(1) and (3).”
Evans v. Pennsylvania Bd. of Prob. & Parole, 820 A.2d 904 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2003). · cites it 2× “Section 3 provides: (1) The amendment of 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 2902, 2903 and 5903(h)(2) and the addition of 42 Pa.”
Commonwealth v. Keaton, 729 A.2d 529 (Pa. 1999). · cites it 2× “§ 2903, unlawful restraint, 18 Pa. C.S. § 2902, aggravated assault, 18 Pa.”
Commonwealth v. Williams, 559 A.2d 25 (Pa. 1989). · cites it 2× “18 Pa.C.S. § 2902. [2] A lesser included offense is a crime the elements of which are a necessary subcomponent but not a sufficient component of elements of another crime, the greater included offense.”
Commonwealth v. McCauley, 199 A.3d 947 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2018). “§ 6318(a)(1) ; 18 Pa.C.S. § 2902(b)(2) ; 18 Pa.C.S. § 3126(a)(7) ; 18 Pa.”
Show all 156 citing cases →
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2902(1): 5 cases
Commonwealth v. Schilling, 431 A.2d 1088 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1981). “However, the judgments of sentence on these convictions are vacated, and the case is remanded to the lower court for resentencing solely on the conviction for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.”
Commonwealth v. Williams, 534 A.2d 101 (Pa. 1987).
Commonwealth v. Melvin, 572 A.2d 773 (Pa. 1990).
Com. v. Fetterolf, J., No. 1016 MDA 2015 (Pa. Super. Ct. May 19, 2016).
Com. v. Jae, J., 224 A.3d 768 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2019).
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2902(2): 2 cases
Commonwealth v. Schilling, 431 A.2d 1088 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1981). “However, the judgments of sentence on these convictions are vacated, and the case is remanded to the lower court for resentencing solely on the conviction for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.”
Commonwealth v. Fawcett, 443 A.2d 1172 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1982).
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2902(A)(1): 1 case
Com. v. Gleason, D., No. 224 WDA 2014 (Pa. Super. Ct. Nov. 12, 2014).
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2902(a): 14 cases
Com. v. Imhoff, D., No. 1597 WDA 2014 (Pa. Super. Ct. June 30, 2016).
Com. v. Wakefield, M., No. 68 EDA 2016 (Pa. Super. Ct. May 4, 2017).
Com. v. Bannasch, P., No. 229 WDA 2018 (Pa. Super. Ct. Sept. 26, 2018).
Com. v. Deleon, R., No. 960 MDA 2018 (Pa. Super. Ct. Aug. 9, 2019).
Commonwealth v. Housman, W., 226 A.3d 1249 (Pa. 2020).
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2902(a)(1): 44 cases
Commonwealth v. Rhoades, 8 A.3d 912 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2010). “18 Pa. Cons.Stat. Ann. §§ 2701(a)(1) and (3).”
Commonwealth v. Banks, 198 A.3d 391 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2018).
Commonwealth v. Walker, 139 A.3d 225 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2016).
Commonwealth v. Hornaman, 920 A.2d 1282 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2007).
Commonwealth v. Carrasquillo, 78 A.3d 1120 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2013).
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2902(a)(2): 6 cases
United States v. Smith, 284 F. App'x 943 (3d Cir. 2008).
Com. v. Williams, J., No. 1128 MDA 2015 (Pa. Super. Ct. Aug. 26, 2016).
Com. v. Black, J., No. 700 MDA 2016 (Pa. Super. Ct. Nov. 22, 2016).
Com. v. Wakefield, M., No. 68 EDA 2016 (Pa. Super. Ct. May 4, 2017).
Com. v. Berlin, G., No. 1574 WDA 2014 (Pa. Super. Ct. June 30, 2015).
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2902(a)(l): 1 case
Com. v. Imhoff, D., No. 1597 WDA 2014 (Pa. Super. Ct. June 30, 2016).
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2902(b): 7 cases
Commonwealth v. Muniz, J., 164 A.3d 1189 (Pa. 2017).
Com. v. Dewald, T., 2024 PA Super 109.
Commonwealth v. Torsilieri, G., 232 A.3d 567 (Pa. 2020).
Com. v. Johnson, K., No. 1169 WDA 2015 (Pa. Super. Ct. May 27, 2016).
Com. v. Hamlett, J., No. 1172 WDA 2016 (Pa. Super. Ct. Sept. 11, 2018).
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2902(b)(1): 4 cases
Com. v. Johnson, K., No. 1169 WDA 2015 (Pa. Super. Ct. May 27, 2016).
Com. v. Mitchell, K., No. 1098 WDA 2016 (Pa. Super. Ct. June 21, 2017).
Com. v. Daniels, R., No. 1618 EDA 2019 (Pa. Super. Ct. Apr. 7, 2020).
Com. v. Jones, S., No. 3284 EDA 2019 (Pa. Super. Ct. Nov. 6, 2020).
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2902(b)(2): 1 case
Commonwealth v. McCauley, 199 A.3d 947 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2018). “§ 6318(a)(1) ; 18 Pa.C.S. § 2902(b)(2) ; 18 Pa.C.S. § 3126(a)(7) ; 18 Pa.”
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2902(c)(1): 3 cases
Com. v. Girardi, J., No. 364 MDA 2016 (Pa. Super. Ct. Sept. 15, 2016).
Com. v. Muller, T., No. 203 EDA 2018 (Pa. Super. Ct. May 24, 2019).
Com. v. Engler-Harper, N., No. 106 MDA 2022 (Pa. Super. Ct. Aug. 16, 2022).
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2902(d): 1 case
Washington Couny CYF v. Gallagher, J., 2025 PA Super 51.
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