abet
Abet refers to criminally assisting another person in the commission of a crime including planning a crime, escaping from a crime, or in the actual commission of the crime.
A party that abets commission of a crime can be charged and prosecuted on grounds of accomplice liability . Under federal law , parties charged with abetting are charged as principals and are, therefore, subject to the same penalties as if they had physically committed the crime themselves.
A party who abets before a crime occurs is frequently known as an accessory before the fact . A party who abets by nature of being present at the scene of the crime like a lookout is frequently known as a principal in the second decree .
In statutes or case law, abetting is also frequently written as “ aiding and abetting ”.
[Last reviewed in June of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team ]
Wex