CHAPTER 533: OBSCENITY AND SEX OFFENSES

(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 R.C. § 2305.51.

(e) MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL. Has the same meaning as in 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 the 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 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.

(R.C. § 2907.01)

§ 533.02 PRESUMPTIONS; NOTICE.

(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 § 533.11 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 the 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 the 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. This 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 the notice.

(c) Section 533.11 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 §§ 533.11, 533.12(a) and 533.13 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.

(2) Division (d)(1) of this section does not apply to a person who conspires with an entity actively involved in the creation or knowing distribution of material in violation of § 533.11, § 533.13 or § 533.12 or who knowingly advertises the availability of material of that nature.

(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 § 533.11, § 533.12 or § 533.13 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 § 533.11, § 533.12 or § 533.13 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 § 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.

(R.C. § 2907.35)

Disclaimer: This Code of Ordinances and/or any other documents that appear on this site may not reflect the most current legislation adopted by the Municipality. American Legal Publishing provides these documents for informational purposes only. These documents should not be relied upon as the definitive authority for local legislation. Additionally, the formatting and pagination of the posted documents varies from the formatting and pagination of the official copy. The official printed copy of a Code of Ordinances should be consulted prior to any action being taken. For further information regarding the official version of any of this Code of Ordinances or other documents posted on this site, please contact the Municipality directly or contact American Legal Publishing toll-free at 800-445-5588.

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