(A) Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein:
MINOR means any person under the age of 18 years, whose care and custody, as well as right to earnings, repose with a parent, legal guardian or legal custodian. It does not include an emancipated minor or anyone under the age of 18 years who is legally married.
PUBLIC PLACE shall include any bar, bowling alley, café, drive-in restaurant, drug store, grocery store, hamburger stand, public or private parking lot, pool room, restaurant, saloon, supermarket or any place dedicated to amusement and entertainment, to which the public is invited, and shall include, in addition, all public streets, alleys, highways, walkways, parks, and squares within the village which are used by the public. PUBLIC PLACE shall also include riding upon or in, or operating a motor vehicle, bicycle, motorized bicycle, motorcycle, or any other form of vehicle not identified herein.
VILLAGE means the Village of Weston, Ohio.
(B) Prohibition to minors. No minor shall be present in any public place within the village between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., unless the minor is accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, legal custodian or some other adult person who has been authorized by a parent of the minor to have the minor in a public place between the hours indicated.
(C) Prohibition to parents. No person, whether as parent, legal guardian or legal custodian of a minor, shall permit the minor, unaccompanied by his or her parent, legal guardian, legal custodian or some other specifically authorized adult person, to be in a public place within the village in violation of division (B) of this section. Any parent, legal guardian or legal custodian shall be presumed to have permitted a minor in his or her care or custody to be in a public place in violation of this section if such minor is found in such place in violation of this section and the parent, legal guardian or legal custodian does not have knowledge of the whereabouts of the minor child or has failed to exercise reasonable care to determine or know the whereabouts of the minor between the hours set forth in this section.
(D) Exceptions. No minor or adult person shall be deemed to be in violation of this section if the minor is found in a public place between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., provided the minor is engaged in, or traveling by the most direct route available to or from his or her home and the site of, any organized school activity, religious activity, civic activity, or organized sporting event, or if said minor is engaged in lawful employment with the consent of his or her parent, legal guardian or legal custodian.
(E) Police authority. Any police officer authorized by the village or whose authority is provided for by any law or laws governing the village shall be authorized to stop and require identification of any person who is found in or upon a motor vehicle, bicycle, motorized bicycle or motorcycle, or who loiters, idly remains, congregates, tarries or stays in a public place, during the prescribed hours as set forth herein, and whose actions, appearance, demeanor or other fact within the knowledge of the police officer gives rise to the reasonable belief that the person is a minor. The identification required shall include the person's age, home address, phone number and, if the person resides outside the limits of the village, the address where the person may be staying within the village. Any person stopped and found not to be a minor shall be allowed to proceed freely with no record made of the inquiry.
(F) Duties of police officer if violation occurs. It shall be the duty of a police officer finding a minor in violation of this section to take the minor to his or her home within the village and discuss the provisions of this section with the parent, legal guardian or custodian of the minor and to issue a warning citation. If the parent, legal guardian or legal custodian of the minor cannot be located, or if the minor resides outside of the village, the officer, at his or her discretion, may detain the minor found in violation of this section and take the minor to a convenient place where the parent, legal guardian or legal custodian can be called. The police officer shall make a written record of the information obtained from the minor child and a brief summary of the facts surrounding the stopping of the child and shall release the minor to the custody of the parent, legal guardian or legal custodian, if such person can be found or reached by telephone. If the parent, legal guardian or legal custodian cannot be found or reached by telephone, the officer at his or her discretion may review the provisions of this section with the minor and release him or her or may refer the child to the Wood County Juvenile Court or other proper governmental agency authorized to handle juveniles within Wood County.
(G) Adult penalties. Any parent, legal guardian, or legal custodian, found in violation of this section, after being given the first warning provided for in division (F) of this section, and whose minor child is thereafter found in violation of this section, shall be deemed guilty of a minor misdemeanor the first time the party is cited under this section. On each subsequent offense, the parent, legal guardian, or legal custodian shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
(H) Penalties applying to minors. Any minor found in violation of this section after once receiving the warning provided for in division (F) of this section shall be referred to the Juvenile Court of Wood County, Ohio, for a determination as to whether or not the minor should be proceeded against as may be appropriate under R.C. Chapter 2151, as an unruly child, a delinquent child or a neglected child.
(I) Record keeping responsibility. All records required to be maintained pursuant to the terms and provisions of this section shall be considered confidential in order to protect the minor involved, and shall be available for inspection only by the Mayor of the village, the legal officers of the village, if any legal officer is called upon to prosecute any charge under the terms and provisions of this section, any police officer acting on behalf of the village, and the judge and administrative personnel of the appropriate Juvenile Court. In addition, the records shall be available for inspection by the parent, legal guardian or legal custodian, or attorney for the parents, legal guardian, legal custodian or minor charged under the terms and provisions of this section.
(Ord. 32-98, passed 12-21-98; Am. Ord. 21-04, passed 9-7-04)