537.19 INTERFERENCE WITH CUSTODY.

   (a)   No person, knowing the person is without privilege to do so or being reckless in that regard, shall entice, take, keep, or harbor a person identified under subsections (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section from the parent, guardian, or custodian of the person identified in subsection (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section:

      (1)   A child under the age of eighteen, or a mentally or physically handicapped under the age of twenty-one;

      (2)   A person committed by law to an institution for delinquent, unruly, neglected, abused or dependent children;

      (3)   A person committed by law to an institution for the mentally ill or mentally retarded.

   (b)   No person shall aid, abet, induce, cause, or encourage a child or ward of the juvenile court who has been committed to the custody of any person, department or public or private institution to leave the custody of that person, department, or institution without legal consent.

   (c)   It is an affirmative defense to a charge of enticing or taking under subsection (a)(1) of this section, that the actor reasonably believed that the actor’s conduct was necessary to preserve the child’s health or safety. It is an affirmative defense to a charge of keeping or harboring under subsection (a) of this section, that the actor in good faith gave notice to law enforcement or judicial authorities within a reasonable time after the child or the committed person came under the actor’s shelter, protection or influence.

   (d)   Whoever violates this section is guilty of interference with custody, a misdemeanor of the first degree, if the child who is the subject of a violation of subsection (a)(1) of this section is not removed from the state or if the offender has not been previously convicted of any offense under this section or Ohio R.C. 2919.23 and provided that the child who is the subject of a violation of subsection (a)(1) of this section does not suffer physical harm as a result of the violation. Each day of violation of subsection (b) of this section is a separate offense.
(Ord. 1996-65. Passed 7-17-96.)