537.03 ASSAULT.
(a) No person shall knowingly cause or attempt to cause physical harm to another or to another’s unborn.
(b) No person shall recklessly cause serious physical harm to another or to another’s unborn.
(c) Whoever violates this section is guilty of assault, a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the assault was committed under the circumstances provided in subsection (c)(1), (2), (3) or (4) hereof, assault is a felony and shall be prosecuted under appropriate State law.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, if the offense is committed by a caretaker against a functionally impaired person under the caretaker’s care.
(2) If the offense is committed in any of the following circumstances:
A. The offense occurs in or on the grounds of a State correctional institution or an institution of the Department of Youth Services, the victim of the offense is an employee of the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, the Department of Youth Services, or a probation department or is on the premises of the particular institution for business purposes or as a visitor, and the offense is committed by a person incarcerated in the State correctional institution, a person institutionalized in the Department of Youth Services institution pursuant to a commitment to the Department of Youth Services, by a parolee, by an offender under transitional control, under a community control sanction, or on an escorted visit, by a person under post-release control, or by an offender under any other type of supervision by a government agency.
B. The offense occurs in or on the grounds of a local correctional facility, the victim of the offense is an employee of the local correctional facility or a probation department or is on the premises of the facility for business purposes or as a visitor, and the offense is committed by a person who is under custody in the facility subsequent to the person’s arrest for any crime or delinquent act, subsequent to the person’s being charged with or convicted of any crime, or subsequent to the person’s being alleged to be or adjudicated a delinquent child.
C. The offense occurs off the grounds of a State correctional institution and off the grounds of an institution of the Department of Youth Services, the victim of the offense is an employee of the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, the Department of Youth Services, or a probation department, the offense occurs during the employee’s official work hours and while the employee is engaged in official work responsibilities, and the offense is committed by a person incarcerated in a State correctional institution or institutionalized in the Department of Youth Services who temporarily is outside of the institution for any purpose, by a parolee, by an offender under transitional control, under a community control sanction, or on an escorted visit, by a person under post-release control, or by an offender under any other type of supervision by a government agency.
D. The offense occurs off the grounds of a local correctional facility, the victim of the offense is an employee of the local correctional facility or a probation department, the offense occurs during the employee’s official work hours and while the employee is engaged in official work responsibilities, and the offense is committed by a person who is under custody in the facility subsequent to the person’s arrest for any crime or delinquent act, subsequent to the person being charged with or convicted of any crime, or subsequent to the person being alleged to be or adjudicated a delinquent child and who temporarily is outside of the facility for any purpose or by a parolee, by an offender under transitional control, under a community control sanction, or on an escorted visit, by a person under post-release control, or by an offender under any other type of supervision by a government agency.
E. The victim of the offense is a school teacher or administrator or a school bus operator, and the offense occurs in a school, on school premises, in a school building, on a school bus or while the victim is outside of school premises or a school bus and is engaged in duties or official responsibilities associated with the victim’s employment or position as a school teacher or administrator or a school bus operator, including, but not limited to, driving, accompanying, or chaperoning students at or on class or field trips, athletic events, or other school extracurricular activities or functions outside of school premises.
(3) If the victim of the offense is a peace officer or an investigator of the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, a firefighter, or a person performing emergency medical service, while in the performance of their official duties.
(4) If the victim of the offense is an officer or employee of a public children services agency or a private child placing agency and the offense relates to the officer’s or employee’s performance or anticipated performance of official responsibilities or duties.
(5) If an offender who is convicted of or pleads guilty to assault when it is a misdemeanor also is convicted of or pleads guilty to a specification as described in Ohio R.C. 2941.1423 that was included in the indictment, count in the indictment or information charging the offense, the court shall sentence the offender to a mandatory jail term as provided in division (G) of Ohio R.C. 2929.24.
(d) As used in this section:
(1) “Peace officer” has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 2935.01.
(2) “Firefighter” has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 3937.41.
(3) “Emergency medical service” has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 4765.01.
(4) “Local correctional facility” means a county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse. A minimum security jail established under Ohio R.C. 341.23 or 753.21, or another county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty- municipal facility used for the custody of persons arrested for any crime or delinquent act, persons charged with or convicted of any crime, or persons alleged to be or adjudicated a delinquent child.
(5) “Employee of a local correctional facility” means a person who is an employee of the political subdivision or of one or more of the affiliated political subdivisions that operates the local correctional facility and who operates or assists in the operation of the facility.
(6) “School teacher or administrator” means either of the following:
A. A person who is employed in the public schools of the State under a contract described in Ohio R.C. 3319.08 in a position in which the person is required to have a certificate issued pursuant to Ohio R.C. 3319.22 to 3319.311.
B. A person who is employed by a nonpublic school for which the State Board of Education prescribes minimum standards under Ohio R.C. 3301.07 and who is certified in accordance with Ohio R.C. 3301.071.
(7) “Community control sanction” has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 2929.01.
(8) “Escorted visit” means an escorted visit granted under Ohio R.C. 2967.27.
(9) “Post-release control” and “transitional control” have the same meanings as in Ohio R.C. 2967.01.
(10) “Investigator of the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation” has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 2903.11.
(ORC 2903.13)