(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a prosecution shall be barred unless it is commenced within the following periods after an offense is committed:
(1) For a misdemeanor other than a minor misdemeanor, two (2) years;
(2) For a minor misdemeanor, six (6) months.
(b) If the period of limitation provided in subsection (a) hereof has expired, prosecution shall be commenced for an offense of which an element is fraud or breach of a fiduciary duty, within one (1) year after discovery of the offense either by an aggrieved person, or by his or her legal representative who is not himself or herself a party to the offense.
(c) If the period of limitation provided in subsection (a) hereof has expired, prosecution shall be commenced for an offense involving misconduct in office by a public servant as defined in Section 615.01, at any time while the accused remains a public servant, or within two (2) years thereafter.
(d) An offense is committed when every element of the offense occurs. In the case of an offense of which an element is a continuing course of conduct, the period of limitation does not begin to run until such course of conduct or the accused’s accountability for it terminates, whichever occurs first.
(e) A prosecution is commenced on the date an indictment is returned or an information filed, or on the date a lawful arrest without a warrant is made, or on the date a warrant, summons, citation or other process is issued, whichever occurs first. A prosecution is not commenced by the return of an indictment or the filing of an information unless reasonable diligence is exercised to issue and execute process on the same. A prosecution is not commenced upon issuance of a warrant, summons, citation or other process, unless reasonable diligence is exercised to execute the same.
(f) The period of limitation shall not run during any time when the corpus delicti remains undiscovered.
(g) The period of limitation shall not run during any time when the accused purposely avoids prosecution. Proof that the accused absented himself or herself from this State or concealed his or her identity or whereabouts is prima facie evidence of his or her purpose to avoid prosecution.
(h) The period of limitation shall not run during any time a prosecution against the accused based on the same conduct is pending in this State, even though the indictment, information, or process which commenced the prosecution is quashed or the proceedings thereon are set aside or reversed on appeal.
(RC 2901.13; Ord. No. 54-74. Passed 3-25-74, eff. 4-1-74)