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Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Part I · Chapter 67 — Military and Navy

§ 1381. Enticing desertion and harboring deserters

Statutory text

Whoever entices or procures, or attempts or endeavors to entice or procure any person in the Armed Forces of the United States, or who has been recruited for service therein, to desert therefrom, or aids any such person in deserting or in attempting to desert from such service; or

Whoever harbors, conceals, protects, or assists any such person who may have deserted from such service, knowing him to have deserted therefrom, or refuses to give up and deliver such person on the demand of any officer authorized to receive him—

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

  1. Pub. L. 80–645 · 62 Stat. 683

    Enacted · 18 U.S.C. § 1381

    June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 764

    Source evidence

    Code source credit
    June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 764

  2. Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994

    Pub. L. 103–322 title XXXIII § 330016(1)(I) · 108 Stat. 1796

    Substituted · 18 U.S.C. § 1381

    Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $2,000” in last par

    Source evidence

    Code amendment note
    Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $2,000” in last par.

    Enacted provision · exact public law section
    (I) in sections 331, 482, 486, 499, 755, 873, 958, 1016, 1154, 1156, 1381, 1542, 1543, 1544, 1545, 1586, 1621, 1622, 1702, 1708, 1709, 1920, 1921, 1923, 2071, 2193, 2233, 2386, and 2424 by striking “not more than $2,000” each place it appears and inserting “under this title”;

1 of 2 references resolved to an enrolled provision · 1 partial

Notes

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 94 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, § 42, 35 Stat. 1097).

Mandatory punishment provisions were changed to alternative.

Words “armed forces” were substituted for repeated references to military service, naval service, soldier and seamen.

Minor changes were made in phraseology.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $2,000” in last par.

Credits

1948–1994 · 2 acts
  1. 1948June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 764
  2. 1994Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(I), , 108 Stat. 2147.
Show as published

(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 764; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(I), , 108 Stat. 2147.)

Parsed from the official OLRC USLM XML in data/usc_all/usc18.xml · release point 119-108 · OLRC build 2026-05-04

USLM identifier /us/usc/t18/s1381