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PART TWO - ADMINISTRATION CODE
PART FOUR - TRAFFIC CODE
PART SIX - GENERAL OFFENSES CODE
CHAPTER 606: GENERAL PROVISIONS; ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT
CHAPTER 612: ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
CHAPTER 618: ANIMALS
CHAPTER 624: DRUGS
CHAPTER 626: FAIR EMPLOYMENT
CHAPTER 628: FAIR HOUSING
CHAPTER 630: GAMBLING
CHAPTER 636: OFFENSES RELATING TO PERSONS
CHAPTER 642: OFFENSES RELATING TO PROPERTY
CHAPTER 648: PEACE DISTURBANCES
CHAPTER 654: RAILROADS
CHAPTER 660: SAFETY, SANITATION AND HEALTH
CHAPTER 666: SEX RELATED OFFENSES
CHAPTER 672: WEAPONS AND EXPLOSIVES
CHAPTER 698: PENALTIES AND SENTENCING
PART EIGHT - BUSINESS REGULATION AND TAXATION CODE
PART TEN - STREETS, UTILITIES AND PUBLIC SERVICES CODE
PART TWELVE - PLANNING AND ZONING CODE
PART FOURTEEN - BUILDING AND HOUSING CODE
PART SIXTEEN - FIRE PREVENTION CODE
TABLE OF SPECIAL ORDINANCES
PARALLEL REFERENCES
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§ 666.20 JUVENILES ON THE PREMISES OF ADULT ENTERTAINMENT ESTABLISHMENTS PROHIBITED.
   (a)   As used in this section:
      (1)   “Adult arcade” means any place to which the public is permitted or invited in which coin-operated, slug-operated, or electronically, electrically, or mechanically controlled still or motion picture machines, projectors, or other image-producing devices are regularly maintained to show images to five or fewer persons per machine at any one time, and in which the images so displayed are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis upon matter exhibiting or describing specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
      (2)   “Adult bookstore,” “adult novelty store,” or “adult video store.”
         A.   Means a commercial establishment that, for any form of consideration, has as a significant or substantial portion of its stock-in-trade in, derives a significant or substantial portion of its revenues from, devotes a significant or substantial portion of its interior business or advertising to, or maintains a substantial section of its sales or display space for the sale or rental of any of the following:
            1.   Books, magazines, periodicals, or other printed matter, or photographs, films, motion pictures, video cassettes, compact discs, slides, or other visual representations, that are characterized by their emphasis upon the exhibition or description of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas;
            2.   Instruments, devices, or paraphernalia that are designed for use or marketed primarily for stimulation of human genital organs or for sadomasochistic use or abuse of self or others.
         B.   Includes a commercial establishment as defined in Ohio R.C. 2907.38. An establishment may have other principal business purposes that do not involve the offering for sale, rental, or viewing of materials exhibiting or describing specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas and still be categorized as an adult bookstore, adult novelty store, or adult video store. The existence of other principal business purposes does not exempt an establishment from being categorized as an adult bookstore, adult novelty store, or adult video store so long as one of its principal business purposes is offering for sale or rental, for some form of consideration, such materials that exhibit or describe specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
      (3)   “Adult cabaret” means a nightclub, bar, juice bar, restaurant, bottle club, or similar commercial establishment, whether or not alcoholic beverages are served, that regularly features any of the following:
         A.   Persons who appear in a state of nudity or seminudity;
         B.   Live performances that are characterized by the exposure of specified anatomical areas or specified sexual activities;
         C.   Films, motion pictures, video cassettes, slides, or other photographic reproductions that are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis upon the exhibition or description of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
      (4)   “Adult entertainment” means the sale, rental, or exhibition, for any form of consideration, of books, films, video cassettes, magazines, periodicals, or live performances that are characterized by an emphasis on the exposure or display of specified anatomical areas or specified sexual activity.
      (5)   “Adult entertainment establishment” means an adult arcade, adult bookstore, adult novelty store, adult video store, adult cabaret, adult motion picture theater, adult theater, nude or seminude model studio, or sexual encounter establishment. An establishment in which a medical practitioner, psychologist, psychiatrist, or similar professional person licensed by the state engages in medically approved and recognized therapy, including, but not limited to, massage therapy, as regulated pursuant to Ohio R.C. 4731.15, is not an “adult entertainment establishment.”
      (6)   “Adult motion picture theater” means a commercial establishment where films, motion pictures, video cassettes, slides, or similar photographic reproductions that are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis upon the exhibition or description of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas are regularly shown for any form of consideration.
      (7)   “Adult theater” means a theater, concert hall, auditorium, or similar commercial establishment that, for any form of consideration, regularly features persons who appear in a state of nudity or seminudity or live performances that are characterized by their emphasis upon the exposure of specified anatomical areas or specified sexual activities.
      (8)   “Distinguished or characterized by their emphasis upon” means the dominant or principal character and theme of the object described by this phrase. For instance, when the phrase refers to films “that are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis upon the exhibition or description of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas,” the films so described are those whose dominant or principal character and theme are the exhibition or description of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
      (9)   “Nude or seminude model studio” means any place where a person, who regularly appears in a state of nudity or seminudity, is provided for money or any other form of consideration to be observed, sketched, drawn, painted, sculptured, photographed, or similarly depicted by other persons. A modeling class or studio is not a nude or seminude model studio and is not subject to this chapter if it is operated in any of the following ways:
         A.   By a college or university supported entirely or partly by taxation;
         B.   By a private college or university that maintains and operates educational programs, the credits for which are transferable to a college or university supported entirely or partly by taxation;
         C.   In a structure that has no sign visible from the exterior of the structure and no other advertising indicating that a person appearing in a state of nudity or seminudity is available for viewing, if in order to participate in a class in the structure, a student must enroll at least three days in advance of the class and if not more than one nude or seminude model is on the premises at any one time.
      (10)   “Nudity,” “nude,” or “state of nudity” means the showing of the human male or female genitals, pubic area, vulva, anus, anal cleft, or cleavage with less than a fully opaque covering; or the showing of the female breasts with less than a fully opaque covering of any part of the nipple.
      (11)   “Regularly features” or “regularly shown” means a consistent or substantial course of conduct, such that the films or performances exhibited constitute a substantial portion of the films or performances offered as a part of the ongoing business of the adult entertainment establishment.
      (12)   “Seminude” or “state of seminudity” means a state of dress in which opaque clothing covers not more than the genitals, pubic region, and nipple of the female breast, as well as portions of the body covered by supporting straps or devices.
      (13)   “Sexual encounter establishment.”
         A.   Means a business or commercial establishment that, as one of its principal business purposes, offers for any form of consideration a place where either of the following occur:
            1.   Two or more persons may congregate, associate, or consort for the purpose of engaging in specified sexual activities.
            2.   Two or more persons appear nude or seminude for the purpose of displaying their nude or seminude bodies for their receipt of consideration or compensation in any type or form.
         B.   An establishment where a medical practitioner, psychologist, psychiatrist, or similar professional person licensed by the state engages in medically approved and recognized therapy, including, but not limited to, massage therapy, as regulated pursuant to Ohio R.C. 4731.15, is not a “sexual encounter establishment.”
      (14)   “Specified anatomical areas” means the cleft of the buttocks, anus, male or female genitals, or the female breast.
      (15)   “Specified sexual activity” means any of the following:
         A.   Sex acts, normal or perverted, or actual or simulated, including intercourse, oral copulation, masturbation, or sodomy;
         B.   Excretory functions as a part of or in connection with any of the activities described in division A. of this definition.
   (b)   No person knowingly shall allow an individual, including, but not limited to, a patron, customer, or employee, who is under 18 years of age on the premises of an adult entertainment establishment.
   (c)   No individual who is under 18 years of age knowingly shall show or give false information concerning the individual’s name or age, or other false identification, for the purpose of gaining entrance to an adult entertainment establishment.
   (d)   A person shall not be found guilty of a violation of division (b) of this section if the person raises as an affirmative defense and if the jury or, in a nonjury trial, the court finds the person has established by a preponderance of the evidence, all of the following:
      (1)   The individual gaining entrance to the adult entertainment establishment exhibited to an operator, employee, agent, or independent contractor of the adult entertainment establishment a driver’s or commercial driver’s license or an identification card issued under Ohio R.C. 4507.50 and 4507.52 showing that the individual was then at least 18 years of age.
      (2)   The operator, employee, agent, or independent contractor made a bona fide effort to ascertain the true age of the individual gaining entrance to the adult entertainment establishment by checking the identification presented, at the time of entrance, to ascertain that the description on the identification compared with the appearance of the individual and that the identification had not been altered in any way.
      (3)   The operator, employee, agent, or independent contractor had reason to believe that the individual gaining entrance to the adult entertainment establishment was at least 18 years of age.
   (e)   In any criminal action in which the affirmative defense described in division (d) of this section is raised, the Registrar of Motor Vehicles or the Deputy Registrar who issued a driver’s or commercial driver’s license or an identification card under Ohio R.C. 4507.50 and 4507.52 shall be permitted to submit certified copies of the records, in the Registrar’s or Deputy Registrar’s possession, of the issuance of the license or identification card in question, in lieu of the testimony of the personnel of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles in the action.
   (f)   (1)   Whoever violates division (b) of this section is guilty of permitting a juvenile on the premises of an adult entertainment establishment, a misdemeanor of the first degree. Each day a person violates this division constitutes a separate offense.
      (2)   Whoever violates division (c) of this section is guilty of use by a juvenile of false information to enter an adult entertainment establishment, a delinquent act that would be a misdemeanor of the fourth degree if committed by an adult.
(ORC 2907.39)
§ 666.21 SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESSES; ILLEGAL OPERATION AND ACTIVITY.
   (a)   As used in this section:
      (1)   “Adult bookstore” or “adult video store” means a commercial establishment that has as a significant or substantial portion of its stock in trade or inventory in, derives a significant or substantial portion of its revenues from, devotes a significant or substantial portion of its interior business or advertising to, or maintains a substantial section of its sales or display space for the sale or rental, for any form of consideration, of books, magazines, periodicals, or other printed matter, or photographs, films, motion pictures, video cassettes, compact discs, slides, or other visual representations, that are characterized by their emphasis upon the exhibition or description of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
      (2)   “Adult cabaret” has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 2907.39.
      (3)   “Adult motion picture theater” means a commercial establishment where films, motion pictures, videocassettes, slides, or similar photographic reproductions that are characterized by their emphasis upon the display of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas are regularly shown to more than five individuals for any form of consideration.
      (4)   “Characterized by” means describing the essential character or quality of an item.
      (5)   “Employee” means any individual who performs any service on the premises of a sexually oriented business on a full-time, part-time, or contract basis, regardless of whether the individual is denominated an employee, independent contractor, agent, or otherwise, but does not include an individual exclusively on the premises for repair or maintenance of the premises or for the delivery of goods to the premises.
      (6)   “Nudity,” “nude,” or “state of nudity” has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 2907.39.
      (7)   “Operator” means any individual on the premises of a sexually oriented business who causes the business to function or who puts or keeps in operation the business or who is authorized to manage the business or exercise overall operational control of the business premises.
      (8)   “Patron” means any individual on the premises of a sexually oriented business except for any of the following:
         A.   An operator or an employee of the sexually oriented business;
         B.   An individual who is on the premises exclusively for repair or maintenance of the premises or for the delivery of goods to the premises;
         C.   A public employee or a volunteer firefighter emergency medical services worker acting within the scope of the public employee’s or volunteer’s duties as a public employee or volunteer.
      (9)   “Premises” means the real property on which the sexually oriented business is located and all appurtenances to the real property, including, but not limited, to the sexually oriented business, the grounds, private walkways, and parking lots or parking garages adjacent to the real property under the ownership, control, or supervision of the owner or operator of the sexually oriented business.
      (10)   “Regularly” means consistently or repeatedly.
      (11)   “Seminude” or “state of seminudity” has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 2907.39.
      (12)   “Sexual device” means any three-dimensional object designed and marketed for stimulation of the male or female human genitals or anus or female breasts or for sadomasochistic use or abuse of oneself or others, including, but not limited to, dildos, vibrators, penis pumps, and physical representations of the human genital organs, but not including devices primarily intended for protection against sexually transmitted diseases or for preventing pregnancy.
      (13)   “Sexual device shop” means a commercial establishment that regularly features sexual devices, but not including any pharmacy, drug store, medical clinic, or establishment primarily dedicated to providing medical or healthcare products or services, and not including any commercial establishment that does not restrict access to its premises by reason of age.
      (14)   “Sexual encounter center” means a business or commercial enterprise that, as one of its principal business purposes, purports to offer for any form of consideration physical contact in the form of wrestling or tumbling between individuals of the opposite sex when one or more of the individuals is nude or seminude.
      (15)   “Sexually oriented business” means an adult bookstore, adult video store, adult cabaret, adult motion picture theater, sexual device shop, or sexual encounter center, but does not include a business solely by reason of its showing, selling, or renting materials that may depict sex.
      (16)   “Specified anatomical areas” includes human genitals, pubic region, and buttocks and the human female breast below a point immediately above the top of the areola.
      (17)   “Specified sexual activity” means sexual intercourse, oral copulation, masturbation, or sodomy, or excretory functions as a part of or in connection with any of these activities.
   (b)   No sexually oriented business shall be or remain open for business between 12:00 midnight and 6:00 a.m. on any day, except that a sexually oriented business that holds a liquor permit pursuant to Ohio R.C. Chapter 4303 may remain open until the hour specified in that permit if it does not conduct, offer, or allow sexually oriented entertainment activity in which the performers appear nude.
   (c)   (1)   No patron who is not a member of the employee’s immediate family shall knowingly touch any employee while that employee is nude or seminude or touch the clothing of any employee while that employee is nude or seminude.
      (2)   No employee who regularly appears nude or seminude on the premises of a sexually oriented business, while on the premises of that sexually oriented business and while nude or seminude, shall knowingly touch a patron who is not a member of the employee’s immediate family or another employee who is not a member of the employee’s immediate family or the clothing of a patron who is not a member of the employee’s immediate family or another employee who is not a member of the employee’s immediate family or allow a patron who is not a member of the employee’s immediate family or another employee who is not a member of the employee’s immediate family to touch the employee or the clothing of the employee.
   (d)   Whoever violates division (b) of this section is guilty of illegally operating a sexually oriented business, a misdemeanor of the first degree.
   (e)   Whoever violates division (c) of this section is guilty of illegal sexually oriented activity in a sexually oriented business. If the offender touches a specified anatomical area of the patron or employee, or the clothing covering a specified anatomical area, a violation of division (c) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the offender does not touch a specified anatomical area of the patron or employee, or the clothing covering a specified anatomical area, a violation of division (c) of this section is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
(ORC 2907.40)
Statutory reference:
   State indemnification for certain municipal liability stemming from local adult business regulations, see Ohio R.C. 715.55
§ 666.22 UNLAWFUL ADVERTISING OF MASSAGE.
   (a)   No person, by means of a statement, solicitation, or offer in a print or electronic publication, sign, placard, storefront display, or other medium, shall advertise massage, relaxation massage, any other massage technique or method, or any related service, with the suggestion or promise of sexual activity.
   (b)   Whoever violates this section is guilty of unlawful advertising of massage, a misdemeanor of the first degree.
   (c)   Nothing in this section prevents the municipality from enacting any regulation of the advertising of massage further than and in addition to the provisions of divisions (a) and (b) of this section.
   (d)   As used in this section, “sexual activity” has the same meaning as in R.C. § 2907.01.
(R.C. § 2927.17)
§ 666.23 NONCONSENSUAL DISSEMINATION OF PRIVATE SEXUAL IMAGES.
   (a)   As used in this section:
      (1)   “Cable service provider.” Has the same meaning as in R.C. § 1332.01.
      (2)   “Direct-to-home satellite service.” Has the meaning defined in 47 U.S.C. § 303, as amended.
      (3)   “Disseminate.” Means to post, distribute, or publish on a computer device, computer network, web site, or other electronic device or medium of communication.
      (4)   “Image.” Means a photograph, film, videotape, digital recording, or other depiction or portrayal of a person.
      (5)   “Interactive computer service.” Has the meaning defined in the “Telecommunications Act of 1996”, 47 U.S.C. § 230, as amended.
      (6)   “Internet provider.” Means a provider of internet service, including all of the following:
         A.   Broadband service, however defined or classified by the Federal Communications Commission;
         B.   Information service or telecommunications service, both as defined in the “Telecommunications Act of 1996”, 47 U.S.C. § 153, as amended;
         C.   Internet protocol- enabled services, as defined in R.C. § 4927.01.
      (7)   “Mobile service.” Has the meaning defined in 47 U.S.C. § 153, as amended.
      (8)   “Sexual act.” Means any of the following:
         A.   Sexual activity;
         B.   Masturbation;
         C.   An act involving a bodily substance that is performed for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification;
         D.   Sado-masochistic abuse.
      (9)   “Telecommunications carrier.” Has the meaning defined in 47 U.S.C. § 153, as amended.
      (10)   “Video service provider.” Has the same meaning as in R.C. § 1332.21.
   (b)   No person shall knowingly disseminate an image of another person if all of the following apply:
      (1)   The person in the image is 18 years of age or older.
      (2)   The person in the image can be identified from the image itself or from information displayed in connection with the image and the offender supplied the identifying information.
      (3)   The person in the image is in a state of nudity or is engaged in a sexual act.
      (4)   The image is disseminated without consent from the person in the image.
      (5)   The image is disseminated with intent to harm the person in the image.
   (c)   This section does not prohibit the dissemination of an image if any of the following apply:
      (1)   The image is disseminated for the purpose of a criminal investigation that is otherwise lawful.
      (2)   The image is disseminated for the purpose of, or in connection with, the reporting of unlawful conduct.
      (3)   The image is part of a news report or commentary or an artistic or expressive work, such as a performance, work of art, literary work, theatrical work, musical work, motion picture, film, or audiovisual work.
      (4)   The image is disseminated by a law enforcement officer, or a corrections officer or guard in a detention facility, acting within the scope of the person’s official duties.
      (5)   The image is disseminated for another lawful public purpose.
      (6)   The person in the image is knowingly and willingly in a state of nudity or engaged in a sexual act and is knowingly and willingly in a location in which the person does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
      (7)   The image is disseminated for the purpose of medical treatment or examination.
   (d)   The following entities are not liable for a violation of this section solely as a result of an image or other information provided by another person:
      (1)   A provider of interactive computer service;
      (2)   A mobile service;
      (3)   A telecommunications carrier;
      (4)   An internet provider;
      (5)   A cable service provider;
      (6)   A direct-to-home satellite service;
      (7)   A video service provider.
   (e)   Any conduct that is a violation of this section and any other section of this Code or the Ohio Revised Code may be prosecuted under this section, the other section, or both sections.
   (f)   (1)   A.   Except as otherwise provided in division (f)(1)B., (f)(1)C., or (f)(1)D. of this section, whoever violates this section is guilty of nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images, a misdemeanor of the third degree.
         B.   If the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a violation of this section or any substantially equivalent state or local law, nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images is a misdemeanor of the second degree.
         C.   If the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to two or more violations of this section or any substantially equivalent state or local law, nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images is a misdemeanor of the first degree.
         D.   If the offender is under 18 years of age and the person in the image is not more than five years older than the offender, the offender shall not be prosecuted under this section.
      (2)   In addition to any other penalty or disposition authorized or required by law, the court may order any person who is convicted of a violation of this section or who is adjudicated delinquent by reason of a violation of this section to criminally forfeit all of the following property to the state under R.C. Chapter 2981:
         A.   Any profits or proceeds and any property the person has acquired or maintained in violation of this section that the sentencing court determines to have been acquired or maintained as a result of the violation;
         B.   Any interest in, securities of, claim against, or property or contractual right of any kind affording a source of influence over any enterprise that the person has established, operated, controlled, or conducted in violation of this section that the sentencing court determines to have been acquired or maintained as a result of the violation.
   (g)   A victim of a violation of this section may commence a civil cause of action against the offender, as described in R.C. § 2307.66.
(R.C. § 2917.211)
§ 666.24 RESTRICTING SEX OFFENDERS.
   (a)   Two or more sex offenders are not permitted to reside together in any residential neighborhood, unless they are family members.
   (b)   No two sex offenders living together are permitted to reside within 5,000 feet of any school, church, or library.
(Ord. 24-15, passed 4-25-2024)
§ 666.99 SENTENCING FOR SEXUALLY ORIENTED OFFENSES; SEXUAL PREDATORS; REGISTRATION.
   (a)   If an offender is being sentenced for a sexually oriented offense or child-victim oriented offense that is a misdemeanor committed on or after January 1, 1997, and the offender is a tier III sex offender/child-victim offender relative to the offense or the offense is any offense listed in Ohio R.C. 2901.07(D)(1) to (D)(3), the judge shall include in the offender’s sentence a statement that the offender is a tier III sex offender/child-victim offender, shall comply with the requirements of Ohio R.C. 2950.03, and shall require the offender to submit to a DNA specimen collection procedure pursuant to Ohio R.C. 2901.07.
   (b)   If an offender is being sentenced for a sexually oriented offense or a child-victim oriented offense that is a misdemeanor committed on or after January 1, 1997, the judge shall include in the sentence a summary of the offender’s duties imposed under Ohio R.C. 2950.04, 2950.041, 2950.05, and 2950.06, and the duration of the duties. The judge shall inform the offender, at the time of sentencing, of those duties and of their duration. If required under Ohio R.C. 2950.03(A)(2), the judge shall perform the duties specified in that section or, if required under Ohio R.C. 2950.03(A)(6), the judge shall perform the duties specified in that division.
(ORC 2929.23)