(a) No person shall, while communicating with any other person over a telephone, threaten to do bodily harm or use or address to such other person any words or language of a lewd, lascivious or indecent character, nature or connotation for the sole purpose of annoying such other person, nor shall any person telephone any other person repeatedly or cause any person to be telephoned repeatedly for the sole purpose of harassing or molesting such other person or his or her family.
(ORC 4931.31)
(b) No person shall knowingly make or cause to be made a telecommunication, or knowingly permit a telecommunication to be made from a telecommunications device under the person's control, to another, if the caller does any of the following:
(1) Fails to identify the caller to the recipient of the telecommunication and makes the telecommunication with purpose to harass or abuse any person at the premises to which the telecommunication is made, whether or not actual communication takes place between the caller and a recipient;
(2) Describes, suggests, requests or proposes that the caller, the recipient of the telecommunication or any other person engage in sexual activity and the recipient or another person at the premises to which the telecommunication is made, has requested, in a previous telecommunication or in the immediate telecommunication, that the caller not make a telecommunication to the recipient or to the premises to which the telecommunication is made;
(3) During the telecommunication, violates Section 636.04;
(4) Knowingly states to the recipient of the telecommunication that the caller intends to cause damage to or destroy public or private property, and the recipient, any member of the recipient's family, or any other person who resides at the premises to which the telecommunication is made, owns, leases, resides or works in, will at the time of the destruction or damaging be near or in, has the responsibility of protecting, or insures, the property that will be destroyed or damaged;
(5) Knowingly makes the telecommunication to the recipient of the telecommunication, to another person at the premises to which the telecommunication is made, or to those premises, and the recipient or another person at those premises previously has told the caller not to make a telecommunication to those premises or to any persons at those premises.
(c) No person shall make or cause to be made a telecommunication, or permit a telecommunication to be made from a telecommunications device under the person's control, with purpose to abuse, threaten or harass another person. (ORC 2917.21)
(d) Any use, communication or act prohibited by this section may be deemed to have occurred or to have been committed at either the place at which the telephone call was made or was received. (ORC 4931.31)
(e) As used in this section:
(1) “Economic harm” means all direct, incidental and consequential pecuniary harm suffered by a victim as a result of criminal conduct. “Economic harm” includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
A. All wages, salaries or other compensation lost as a result of the criminal conduct;
B. The cost of all wages, salaries or other compensation paid to employees for time those employees are prevented from working as a result of the criminal conduct;
C. The overhead costs incurred for the time that a business is shut down as a result of the criminal conduct; and
D. The loss of value to tangible or intangible property that was damaged as a result of the criminal conduct.
(2) “Caller” means the person described in subsection (b) hereof who makes or causes to be made a telecommunication or who permits a telecommunication to be made from a telecommunications device under that person's control.
(3) “Telecommunication” and “telecommunications device” have the same meanings as in Section 642.01.
(4) “Sexual activity” has the same meaning as in Section 666.01.
(f) Nothing in this section prohibits a person from making a telecommunication to a debtor that is in compliance with the “Fair Debt Collection Practices Act,” 91 Stat. 874 (1977), 15 U.S.C. 1692, as amended, or the “Telephone Consumer Protection Act,” 105 Stat. 2395 (1991), 47 U.S.C. 227, as amended.
(g) Whoever violates any of the provisions of subsection (a) hereof is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree and shall be subject to the penalty provided in Section 698.02.
Whoever violates any of the provisions of paragraph (b)(1), (2), (3) or (5) hereof or subsection (c) hereof is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree and shall be subject to the penalty provided in Section 698.02, provided the offender has not previously been convicted of a violation of any of the provisions of paragraph (b)(1), (2), (3) or (5) hereof or subsection (c) hereof or of Ohio R.C. 2917.21(A)(1), (2), (3) or (5) or (B).
Whoever violates paragraph (b)(4) hereof is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree and shall be subject to the penalty provided in Section 698.02, provided the offender has not previously been convicted of a violation of paragraph (b)(4) hereof or Ohio R.C. 2917.21(A)(4) and provided the violation does not result in economic harm of five hundred dollars ($500.00) or more. (ORC 2917.21, 4931.99(B))