(A) No person, without privilege to do so, shall purposely deface, damage, pollute, or otherwise physically mistreat any of the following:
(1) Any public monument;
(2) Any historical or commemorative marker, or any structure, Indian mound or earthwork, cemetery, thing, or site of great historical interest;
(3) A place of worship, its furnishings, or religious artifacts or sacred texts within the place of worship or within the grounds upon which the place of worship is located;
(4) A place of burial or a burial marker; or
(5) Any other object of reverence or sacred devotion.
(B) As used in this section,
CEMETERY means any place of burial and includes burial sites that contain American Indian burial objects placed with or containing American Indian human remains.
(C) Whoever violates this section is guilty of desecration. A violation of division (A)(1), (2), (4) or(5) of this section is a misdemeanor of the second degree. A violation of division (A)(3) of this section is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate State law.
(R.C. § 2927.11) (1974 Code, § 141.01) (Ord. 53-73, passed 12-17-1973)