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(a) No person who has custody, control or supervision of a commercial establishment, with knowledge of the character or content of the material involved, shall display at the establishment any material that is harmful to juveniles and that is open to view by juveniles as part of the invited general public.
(b) It is not a violation of division (a) of this section if the material in question is displayed by placing it behind “blinder racks” or similar devices that cover at least the lower two-thirds (2/3) of the material, if the material in question is wrapped or placed behind the counter, or if the material in question otherwise is covered or located so that the portion that is harmful to juveniles is not open to the view of juveniles.
(c) Whoever violates this section is guilty of displaying matter harmful to juveniles, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Each day during which the offender is in violation of this section constitutes a separate offense.
(RC 2907.311; Ord. No. 2823-89. Passed 3-19-90, eff. 3-22-90)
No person shall:
(a) Knowingly disseminate, distribute or make available to the public any obscene material;
(b) Knowingly engage or participate in any obscene performance made available to the public;
(c) Knowingly engage in commerce for commercial gain with materials depicting and describing explicit sexual conduct, nudity or excretion utilizing displays, circulars, advertisements and other public sales efforts that promote such commerce primarily on the basis of their prurient appeal;
(d) Provide service to patrons in such a manner as to expose to public view:
(1) His or her genitals, pubic hair, buttocks, perineum, anal region or pubic hair region;
(2) Any device, costume or covering which gives the appearance of or simulates the genitals, pubic hair, buttocks, perineum, anal region or pubic hair region; or
(3) Any portion of the female breast at or below the areola thereof.
(e) Knowingly promote the commission of any of the above listed unlawful acts.
(Ord. No. 2139-74. Passed 4-28-75, eff. 5-1-75)
(a) Actual notice of the obscene nature of such material, performance or activity may be given to a person involved in or responsible for such from the City Prosecutor on the basis of information lawfully gathered and supplied to him or her by the Division of Police or citizens.
(1) Such notice shall be in writing and delivered by mail or in person to the alleged offender.
(2) Such notice shall state that:
A. In the opinion of the City Prosecutor the activity engaged in falls within the prohibitions of Section 619.17;
B. If such activity has not ceased within three (3) judicial days, the City will take appropriate legal action;
C. A declaratory judgment proceeding as described in Section 619.19(b) is available if a person engaged in the challenged activity wishes to initiate the legal determination of whether the activity is in fact obscene.
(b) A person who promotes any obscene activity as prohibited in Section 619.17 in the course of his or her business is presumed to do so with knowledge of its content and character.
(Ord. No. 2139-74. Passed 4-28-75, eff. 5-1-75)
(a) In Rem Proceedings.
(1) The Chief of Police may apply to the City Prosecutor to institute an attachment proceeding against any material which is alleged to be obscene in a sworn affidavit.
(2) Upon filing of an application for attachment authorized in subsection (a)(1) hereof, the Chief shall immediately cause notice thereof to be served either personally or by mail upon any person residing or doing business in the City who is known or believed by the Chief to have any of the following interests in material named in the complaint:
A. The publisher;
B. The wholesaler, distributor, circulator;
C. Every retailer or dealer who has, or may have, possession of any material identical to material named in the complaint.
(3) Trial shall be held no later than the fourth judicial day following the filing for attachment. No trial under this section shall be continued or otherwise postponed more than one (1) judicial day, but may be conducted by a judge pro tempore in the event of unavailability of the trial judge.
(b) Declaratory Judgment.
(1) Any person receiving notice in writing from the City Prosecutor under Section 619.18 that a specified activity is obscene may bring action against the City for a declaratory judgment to determine whether such activity is obscene.
(2) If it is adjudged and declared by the court that such activity is obscene, then the City Prosecutor may cause the publication of such judgment in a newspaper of general circulation in the City. Upon such publication all persons residing or doing business in the City will be presumed to have actual notice of the nature of the activity.
(c) Criminal Prosecution.
(1) The City Prosecutor may cause criminal charges to be brought against any person presently engaging in or who has engaged in any prohibited activity in violation of Section 619.17(a), (c) and (e).
(2) If the City Prosecutor has given notice pursuant to Section 619.18, then such criminal charges may be brought only after three (3) judicial days after receipt of notice.
(d) Injunction.
(1) The City Prosecutor may seek a temporary restraining order in the Cleveland Municipal Court in order to enjoin any obscene performance or the service of patrons in violation of Section 619.17.
(2) If the City Prosecutor has given written notice pursuant to Section 619.18(a), he or she may after the passage of three (3) judicial days seek such a temporary restraining order.
(3) A judicial hearing on a request for such order must be granted within three (3) judicial days, and if the temporary restraining order is issued, a trial on the issue of the obscenity of the activity must be commenced within ten (10) days of the issuance of the temporary restraining order. Such trial is not to be postponed, stayed or adjourned by the Municipal Court for more than two (2) judicial days, but it may be conducted by a judge pro tempore if no trial judge is available.
(e) Proceedings authorized by this section shall be in addition to any others provided by law.
(Ord. No. 2139-74. Passed 4-28-75, eff. 5-1-75)
(a) Expert affirmative evidence that the materials or activities are obscene is not required when the materials or activities themselves are presented as evidence.
(b) It shall be an affirmative defense in any prosecution under Section 619.17 that allegedly obscene material was disseminated, or presented for a bona fide scientific, medical, educational, governmental or judicial purpose by a physician, psychologist, teacher, clergyman, prosecutor or judge.
(Ord. No. 2139-74. Passed 4-28-75, eff. 5-1-75)
(a) In an in rem proceeding against sexually explicit material under Section 619.19(a), the court shall, upon a determination by the trier of fact that the material is obscene material, authorize and direct the Chief of Police, pending the exhaustion of all appeals, to destroy the same.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 601.99(b), whoever violates Section 619.17 shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or imprisoned not less than thirty (30) days and not more than one (1) year, or both. A separate offense shall be deemed committed each day during or on which an offense occurs or continues.
(Ord. No. 90-96. Passed 3-18-96, eff. 3-26-96)
Any person publishing or involved in the sale of material as defined in Section 619.01(b)(2) shall first obtain a license from the office of the Division of Assessments and Licenses. The license shall be prominently displayed and show the ownership of and the principal officers of the corporation or company, as well as the addresses of the owners or officers of the company or corporation; further, upon change of ownership or corporate structure, the license shall be required to be renewed showing new information as to corporate or company status. The license fee shall be fifty dollars ($50.00) per each application.
(Ord. No. 90-96. Passed 3-18-96, eff. 3-26-96)
(a) No person, while operating a vehicle, or while a passenger in or on a vehicle, shall solicit another to engage such other person in sexual activity for hire.
(b) No person, while operating a vehicle or while a passenger in or on a vehicle, shall stop, attempt to stop, beckon to, attempt to beckon to, or entice any person to approach or enter the vehicle with intent to entice the other person to engage in sexual activity for hire contrary to Section 619.09 of the Codified Ordinances.
(c) No person, while operating a vehicle, or while a passenger in or on a vehicle, shall knowingly obtain, possess, or use a controlled substance contrary to Section 607.03.
(d) No person, while operating a vehicle or while a passenger in or on a vehicle, shall stop, attempt to stop, beckon to, attempt to beckon to, or entice any person to approach or enter the vehicle with intent to entice the other person to engage in any drug abuse offense contrary to Chapter 607 of the Codified Ordinances.
(e) Any vehicle that has been used on two (2) occasions in the commission of one (1) or any combination of the offenses defined in divisions (a), (b), (c) or (d) of this section, for which convictions have been entered in the court’s journal, without regard to the ownership of the property and without regard to whether the same person(s) were convicted of both offenses, is hereby declared to be a nuisance, and its contents, if any, are also hereby declared to be a nuisance. Any vehicle that constitutes a nuisance under this division and its contents may be abated as provided in Section 619.25.
(f) Whoever violates divisions (a), (b), (c ) or (d) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree. The sentencing court shall sentence the offender to a mandatory term of imprisonment of not less than three (3) days on the first offense, not less than ten (10) days on the second offense, and not less than thirty (30) days on the third or any subsequent offense, and may sentence the offender to a longer term of imprisonment. In addition, the sentencing court may impose a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.00).
(Ord. No. 164-A-2000. Passed 6-19-00, eff. 6-29-00)
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