(a) Definitions.
(1) “Curfew hours” means:
A. 10:00 p.m. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday until 5:00 a.m. of the following day; and
B. 12:01 a.m. until 5:00 a.m. on any Saturday or Sunday.
(2) “Custodian” means any person over the age of eighteen years who is in loco parentis (that is, who has assumed the same duties as a parent or guardian but without a legal proceeding, who has assumed a dominant parental role and is relied upon for support) to a minor.
(3) “Emergency” means an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action. The term includes, but is not limited to, a fire, a natural disaster, automobile accident, medical emergency, or any other situation requiring immediate action to prevent serious physical harm to persons or property.
(4) “Establishment” means any privately owned place of business to which the public is invited, including but not limited to any place of amusement or entertainment, restaurant, tavern, bowling alley, café, theater, drug store, poolroom, shopping center, including the area in front of and immediately around any such establishment.
(5) “Guardian” means any person, other than a parent, who has legal guardianship of a minor.
(6) “Minor” means any person less than eighteen years of age.
(7) “Operator” means any individual, firm, association, partnership, or corporation operating, managing, or conducting any establishment. The term includes the members or partners of an association or partnership and the officers of a corporation.
(8) “Parent” means a person who is:
A. A natural parent, adoptive parent, or step-parent of another person; or
B. At least twenty-one years of age and authorized by a parent or guardian to have the care and custody of a minor.
(9) “Public place” means any place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access for a lawful purpose and includes, but is not limited to, streets, highways, park, playground, sidewalk, and the common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transport facilities and shops.
(10) “Remain” means:
A. To linger or stay; or
B. To fail to leave premises when requested to do so by a police officer or the owner, operator or other person in control of the premises.
(11) “Serious physical harm to persons” has the same meaning as contained in Ohio R.C. 2907.01(A)(5), as amended from time to time, and includes bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes death, serious, permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.
(12) “Serious physical harm to property” has the same meaning as contained in Ohio R.C. 2907.01(A)(4), as amended from time to time, and includes damage to property that results in a substantial loss of value or utility of the property.
(13) “Village” means the Village of Cardington, Morrow County, Ohio.
(b) Offenses.
(1) A minor commits an offense if he or she remains in any public place or on the premises of any establishment within the Village during curfew hours.
(2) A parent, guardian or custodian of a minor commits an offense if he or she knowingly permits, or by insufficient control allows, the minor to remain in any public place or on the premises of any establishment within the Village during curfew hours.
(3) The owner, operator or any employee of an establishment commits an offense if he or she knowingly allows a minor to remain upon the premises of the establishment during curfew hours.
(c) Affirmative Defenses.
(1) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under subsection (b)(1) hereof that the minor was:
A. Accompanied by the minor’s parent, guardian or custodian;
B. On an errand at the direction of the minor’s parent, guardian or custodian, without any detour or stop;
C. In a motor vehicle involved in interstate travel;
D. Engaged in an employment activity, or going to or returning home from an employment activity, without any detour or stop;
E. Involved in an emergency;
F. On the sidewalk abutting the minor’s residence or abutting residence of a next-door neighbor if the neighbor did not complain to the Police Department about the minor’s presence.
G. Attending an official school, religious, or other recreational activity supervised by adults, and sponsored by the Village of Cardington, a civic organization, or another similar entity that takes responsibility for the minor, or going to or returning home from, without any detour or stop, any such activity;
H. Exercising First Amendment rights protected by the United States Constitution, such as the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, and the right of assembly; or
I. Is married or had been married.
(2) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under subsection (b)(3) hereof that the owner, operator, or employee of an establishment promptly notified the Police Department that a minor was present on the premises of the establishment during curfew hours and refused to leave.
(d) Enforcement. Before taking any enforcement action under this section, a police officer shall ask the apparent offender’s age and reason for being in the public place or establishment. The officer shall not issue a citation or make an arrest under this section unless the officer reasonably believes that an offense has occurred and that, based on any response and other circumstances, no defense in subsection (c) is present.
(e) Penalties. A person who violates a provision of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. A person who violates a provision of this chapter is guilty of a separate offense for each day or part of a day during which the violation is committed, continued, or permitted. If the offender previously has been convicted of a violation of this section within the twelve months prior to the date of the instant offense, then a violation of this section is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
(Ord. 2006-11. Passed 10-2-06.)
(Ord. 2006-11. Passed 10-2-06.)