533.01 Definitions.
533.02 Presumption of knowledge; actual notice and defense.
533.03 Unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
533.04 Sexual imposition.
533.05 Public indecency.
533.06 Voyeurism.
533.07 Polygraph examinations for victims: restrictions on use.
533.08 Procuring; engagement in sexual activity for hire.
533.09 Soliciting.
533.095 Loitering to engage in solicitation.
533.10 Prostitution.
533.11 Unlawful exhibition or display of matter harmful to juveniles.
533.12 Pandering obscenity. (Repealed)
533.13 Deception to obtain matter harmful to juveniles.
533.14 Unlawful exhibition of harmful performances at outdoor theaters.
533.15 Possession and viewing of obscene materials involving a minor. (Repealed)
533.155 Disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.
533.16 Separability.
533.17 Declaratory judgment.
533.18 Injunction; abatement of nuisance.
533.19 Unlawful operation of viewing booths depicting sexual conduct.
533.20 Juveniles on the premises of adult entertainment establishments prohibited.
533.21 Sexually oriented businesses; illegal operation and activity.
533.22 Unlawful advertising of massage.
533.23 Nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images.
533.98 Sentencing for sexually oriented offenses; sexual predators; registration.
533.99 Penalty.
CROSS REFERENCES
See sectional histories for similar State law
Sexual harassment - see ADM. 165.29
Complicity - see GEN. OFF. 501.10
Offensive conduct - see GEN. OFF. 509.03
Telephone harassment - see GEN. OFF. 537.10
Criminal trespass - see GEN. OFF. 541.05
Sentencing generally - see GEN. OFF. 501.99
Massage parlor establishments - see BUS. REG. Ch. 735
Adult entertainment facilities - see P. & Z. 1137.12
As used in this chapter:
(a) "Harmful to juveniles." That quality of any material or performance describing or representing nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sado-masochistic abuse in any form to which all of the following apply:
(1) The material or performance, when considered as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest of juveniles in sex.
(2) The material or performance is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable for juveniles.
(3) The material or performance, when considered as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, and scientific value for juveniles.
(b) "Juvenile." Any unmarried person under 18 years of age.
(c) "Material." Any book, magazine, newspaper, pamphlet, poster, print, picture, figure, image, description, motion picture film, video cassette, laser disc, phonograph record, cassette tape, compact disc, or other tangible thing capable of arousing interest through sight, sound, or touch and includes an image or text appearing on a computer monitor, television screen, liquid crystal display, or similar display device or an image or text recorded on a computer hard disk, computer floppy disk, compact disk, magnetic tape, or similar data storage device.
(d) "Mental health client or patient." Has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 2305.51.
(e) "Mental health professional." Has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 2305.115.
(f) "Minor." A person under the age of 18.
(g) "Nudity." The showing, representation, or depiction of human male or female genitals, pubic area, or buttocks with less than a full, opaque covering, or of a female breast with less than a full, opaque covering of any portion thereof below the top of the nipple, or of covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state.
(h) "Obscene." When considered as a whole, and judged with reference to ordinary adults or, if it is designed for sexual deviates or other specially susceptible group, judged with reference to that group, any material or performance is "obscene" if any of the following apply:
(1) Its dominant appeal is to prurient interest.
(2) Its dominant tendency is to arouse lust by displaying or depicting sexual activity, masturbation, sexual excitement, or nudity in a way that tends to represent human beings as mere objects of sexual appetite.
(3) Its dominant tendency is to arouse lust by displaying or depicting bestiality or extreme or bizarre violence, cruelty, or brutality.
(4) Its dominant tendency is to appeal to scatological interest by displaying or depicting human bodily functions of elimination in a way that inspires disgust or revulsion in persons with ordinary sensibilities, without serving any genuine scientific, educational, sociological, moral, or artistic purpose.
(5) It contains a series of displays or descriptions of sexual activity, masturbation, sexual excitement, nudity, bestiality, extreme or bizarre violence, cruelty, or brutality, or human bodily functions of elimination, the cumulative effect of which is a dominant tendency to appeal to prurient or scatological interest, when the appeal to such an interest is primarily for its own sake or for commercial exploitation, rather than primarily for a genuine scientific, educational, sociological, moral, or artistic purpose.
(i) “Performance.” Any motion picture, preview, trailer, play, show, skit, dance, or other exhibition performed before an audience.
(j) “Place where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy.” A place where a reasonable person would believe that the person could fully disrobe in private.
(k) “Private area.” The genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or female breast below the top of the areola, where nude or covered by an undergarment.
(l) “Prostitute.” A male or female who promiscuously engages in sexual activity for hire, regardless of whether the hire is paid to the prostitute or to another.
(m) “Sado-masochistic abuse.” Flagellation or torture by or upon a person or the condition of being fettered, bound, or otherwise physically restrained.
(n) “Sexual activity.” Sexual conduct or sexual contact, or both.
(o) “Sexual conduct.” Vaginal intercourse between a male and female; anal intercourse, fellatio, and cunnilingus between persons regardless of sex; and, without privilege to do so, the insertion, however slight, of any part of the body or any instrument, apparatus, or other object into the vaginal or anal opening of another. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete vaginal or anal intercourse.
(p) “Sexual contact.” Any touching of an erogenous zone of another, including without limitation the thigh, genitals, buttock, pubic region, or, if the person is a female, a breast, for the purpose of sexually arousing or gratifying either person.
(q) “Sexual excitement.” The condition of human male or female genitals when in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal.
(r) “Spouse.” A person married to an offender at the time of an alleged offense, except that such person shall not be considered the spouse when any of the following apply:
(1) When the parties have entered into a written separation agreement pursuant to Ohio R.C. 3103.06.
(2) When an action is pending between the parties for annulment, divorce, dissolution of marriage, or legal separation.
(3) In the case of an action for legal separation, after the effective date of the judgment for legal separation.
(ORC 2907.01)
(a) An owner or manager, or agent or employee of an owner or manager, of a bookstore, newsstand, theater, or other commercial establishment engaged in selling material or exhibiting performances, who, in the course of business does any of the acts prohibited by Section 533.155 is presumed to have knowledge of the character of the material or performance involved if the owner, manager, or agent or employee of the owner or manager has actual notice of the nature of such material or performance, whether or not the owner, manager, or agent or employee of the owner or manager has precise knowledge of its contents.
(b) Without limitation on the manner in which such notice may be given, actual notice of the character of material or a performance may be given in writing by the chief legal officer of the Municipality. Such notice, regardless of the manner in which it is given, shall identify the sender, identify the material or performance involved, state whether it is obscene or harmful to juveniles, and bear the date of such notice.
(c) Section 533.155 does not apply to a motion picture operator or projectionist acting within the scope of employment as an employee of the owner or manager of the theater or other place for the showing of motion pictures to the general public, and having no managerial responsibility or financial interest in the operator's or projectionist's place of employment, other than wages.
(d) (1) The provisions of Sections 533.11, 533.13 and 533.155(a) do not apply to a person solely because the person provided access or connection to or from an electronic method of remotely transferring information not under that person's control, including having provided capabilities that are incidental to providing access or connection to or from the electronic method of remotely transferring the information, and that do not include the creation of the content of the material that is the subject of the access or connection.
(3) Division (d)(1) of this section does not apply to a person who provides access or connection to an electronic method of remotely transferring information that is engaged in the violation of Section 533.11, 533.13 or 533.155 and that contain content that person has selected and introduced into the electronic method of remotely transferring information or content over which that person exercises editorial control.
(e) An employer is not guilty of a violation of Section 533.11, 533.13 or 533.155 based on the actions of an employee or agent of the employer unless the employee's or agent's conduct is within the scope of the employee's or agent's employment or agency, and the employer does either of the following:
(1) With knowledge of the employee's or agent's conduct, the employer authorizes or ratifies the conduct.
(2) The employer recklessly disregards the employee's or agent's conduct.
(f) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under Section 533.11 or 533.13 as the section applies to an image transmitted through the internet or other electronic method of remotely transmitting information that the person charged with violating the section has taken, in good faith, reasonable, effective, and appropriate actions under the circumstances to restrict or prevent access by juveniles to material that is harmful to juveniles, including any method that is feasible under available technology.
(ORC 2907.35)
(a) No person who is 18 years of age or older shall engage in sexual conduct with another who is not the spouse of the offender, when the offender knows the other person is 13 years of age or older but less than 16 years of age, or the offender is reckless in that regard.
(b) Whoever violates this section is guilty of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (b)(2), unlawful sexual conduct with a minor is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate State law.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in division (b)(3) of this section, if the offender is less than four years older than the other person, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor is a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(3) If the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a violation of Ohio R.C. 2907.02, 2907.03 or 2907.04, or any substantially equivalent municipal ordinance, or a violation of former Ohio R.C. 2907.12, or any substantially equivalent municipal ordinance, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate State law.
(ORC 2907.04)
(a) No person shall have sexual contact with another, not the spouse of the offender; cause another, not the spouse of the offender, to have sexual contact with the offender; or cause two or more other persons to have sexual contact when any of the following applies:
(1) The offender knows that the sexual contact is offensive to the other person, or one of the other persons, or is reckless in that regard.
(2) The offender knows that the other person's, or one of the other person's ability to appraise the nature of or control the offender's or touching person's conduct is substantially impaired.
(3) The offender knows that the other person, or one of the other persons, submits because of being unaware of the sexual contact.
(4) The other person, or one of the other persons, is 13 years of age or older but less than 16 years of age, whether or not the offender knows the age of the person, and the offender is at least 18 years of age and four or more years older than the other person.
(5) The offender is a mental health professional, the other person or one of the other persons is a mental health client or patient of the offender, and the offender induces the other person who is the client or patient to submit by falsely representing to the other person who is the client or patient that the sexual contact is necessary for mental health treatment purposes.
(b) No person shall be convicted of a violation of this section solely upon the victim’s testimony unsupported by other evidence.
(c) Whoever violates this section is guilty of sexual imposition, a misdemeanor of the third degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a violation of this section, R.C. § 2907.02, 2907.03, 2907.04, 2907.05, 2907.06, former R.C. § 2907.12, or a substantially equivalent state law or municipal ordinance, a violation of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to three or more violations of this section, R.C. § 2907.02, 2907.03, 2907.04, 2907.05, 2907.06, former R.C. § 2907.12, or a substantially equivalent state law or municipal ordinance, or of any combination of those sections, a violation of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree and, notwithstanding the range of jail terms prescribed in R.C. § 2929.24, the court may impose on the offender a definite jail term of not more than one year.
(ORC 2907.06)
Statutory reference:
Gross sexual imposition, felony, see Ohio R.C. 2907.05
Notice to licensing board or agency upon indictment, conviction or guilty plea of mental health professional, see Ohio R.C. 2907.17 and 2907.18
(a) No person shall recklessly do any of the following, under circumstances in which the person's conduct is likely to be viewed by and affront others who are in the person's physical proximity and who are not members of the person's household:
(1) Expose the person's private parts.
(2) Engage in sexual conduct or masturbation.
(3) Engage in conduct that to an ordinary observer would appear to be sexual conduct or masturbation.
(b) No person shall knowingly do any of the following, under circumstances in which the person’s conduct is likely to be viewed by and affront another person who is in the person’s physical proximity, who is a minor, and who is not the spouse of the offender:
(1) Engage in masturbation.
(2) Engage in sexual conduct.
(3) Engage in conduct that to an ordinary observer would appear to be sexual conduct or masturbation.
(4) Expose the person's private parts with the purpose of personal sexual arousal or gratification or to lure the minor into sexual activity.
(c) (1) Whoever violates this section is guilty of public indecency and shall be punished as provided in divisions (c)(2), (c)(3), (c)(4) and (c)(5) of this section.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this division (c)(2), a violation of division (a)(1) of this section is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to one violation of this section or a substantially equivalent State law or municipal ordinance, a violation of division (a)(1) of this section is a misdemeanor of the third degree or, if any person who was likely to view and be affronted by the offender's conduct was a minor, a misdemeanor of the second degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to two violations of this section or a substantially equivalent State law or municipal ordinance, a violation of division (a)(1) of this section is a misdemeanor of the second degree or, if any person who was likely to view and be affronted by the offender's conduct was a minor, a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to three or more violations of this section or a substantially equivalent State law or municipal ordinance, a violation of division (a)(1) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree or, if any person who was likely to view and be affronted by the offender's conduct was a minor, a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate State law.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in this division (c)(3), a violation of division (a)(2) or (a)(3) of this section is a misdemeanor of the third degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to one violation of this section or a substantially equivalent State law or municipal ordinance, a violation of division (a)(2) or (a)(3) of this section is a misdemeanor of the second degree or, if any person who was likely to view and be affronted by the offender's conduct was a minor, a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to two or more violations of this section or a substantially equivalent State law or municipal ordinance, a violation of division (a)(2) or (a)(3) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree or, if any person who was likely to view and be affronted by the offender's conduct was a minor, a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate State law.
(4) Except as otherwise provided in this division (c)(4), a violation of division (b)(1), (b)(2) or (b)(3) of this section is a misdemeanor of the second degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to one violation of this section or a substantially equivalent State law or municipal ordinance, a violation of division (b)(1), (b)(2) or (b)(3) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to two or more violations of this section or a substantially equivalent State law or municipal ordinance, a violation of division (b)(1), (b)(2) or (b)(3) of this section is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate State law.
(5) Except as otherwise provided in this division (c)(5), a violation of division (b)(4) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any violation of this section or a substantially equivalent State law or municipal ordinance, a violation of division (b)(4) of this section is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate State law.
(ORC 2907.09)
(d) (1) If either of the following applies, the court may determine at the time of sentencing whether to classify the offender as a tier I sex offender/child-victim offender for a violation of division (b)(4) of this section:
A. The offender is less than ten years older than the other person.
B. The offender is ten or more years older than the other person and the offender has not previously been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any violation of this section or any substantially equivalent state law or municipal ordinance.
(2) If the offender is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of division (b)(4) of this section, is ten or more years older than the other person, and previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any violation of this section or any substantially equivalent state law or municipal ordinance, the court shall issue an order at the time of sentencing that classifies the offender as a tier I sex offender/child-victim offender subject to registration under R.C. §§ 2950.04, 2950.041, 2950.05, and 2950.06.
(ORC 2907.09)
(e) A mother is entitled to breast-feed her baby in any location of a place of public accommodation, as defined in Ohio R.C. 4112.01, wherein the mother otherwise is permitted.
Statutory reference:
Bail considerations for persons charged, see Ohio R.C. 2907.41
(a) No person, for the purpose of sexually arousing or gratifying himself or herself, shall commit trespass or otherwise surreptitiously invade the privacy of another, to spy or eavesdrop upon another.
(b) No person shall knowingly commit trespass or otherwise secretly or surreptitiously videotape, film, photograph, broadcast, stream, or otherwise record another person, in a place where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, for the purpose of viewing the private areas of that person.
(c) No person shall knowingly commit trespass or otherwise secretly or surreptitiously videotape, film, photograph, broadcast, stream, or otherwise record a minor, in a place where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, for the purpose of viewing the private areas of the minor.
(d) No person shall secretly or surreptitiously videotape, film, photograph, or otherwise record another person above, under, or through the clothing being worn by that other person for the purpose of viewing the body of, or the undergarments worn by, that other person.
(e) Whoever violates this section is guilty of voyeurism.
(1) A violation of division (a) of this section is a misdemeanor of the third degree.
(2) A violation of division (b) of this section is a misdemeanor of the second degree.
(3) A violation of division (d) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(4) A violation of division (c) of this section is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate State law.
(ORC 2907.08)
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