AID AND ABET

To assist another in the commission of a crime by words or conduct.

The person who aids and abets participates in the commission of a crime by performing some overt act or by giving advice or encouragement. He or she must share the criminal intent of the person who actually commits the crime, but it is not necessary for the aider and abettor to be physically present at the scene of the crime.

An aider and abettor is a party to a crime and may be criminally liable as a principal, an accessory before the fact, or an accessory after the fact.

aid and abet help and encourage someone, perhaps in a dubious or nefarious enterprise. Abet, which is also used in formal legal contexts, is related to an Old French term meaning ‘encourage (a hound) to bite’.