Newark, OH Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Citation
- Newark Code of Ordinances § 666.085
- Offense level
- Misdemeanor of the third degree
- Required intent
- Purpose to solicit sexual activity for hire
- Conduct covered
- Five listed acts, including stopping, conversing, and approaching vehicles
- Positive HIV test
- Felony prosecuted under state law
- Drug loitering § 624.16
- Repealed by voters, November 8, 2016
Summary
In the City of Newark, Ohio, Code of Ordinances § 666.085 makes it a third-degree misdemeanor to beckon, stop, converse with, or approach another person or a vehicle in or near a public place with the purpose of soliciting sexual activity for hire. A positive HIV test turns the offense into a felony prosecuted under state law.
(a) No person, with purpose to solicit another to engage in sexual activity for hire and while in or near a public place, shall do any of the following: (1) Beckon to, stop or attempt to stop another; (2) Engage or attempt to engage another in conversation; (3) Stop or attempt to stop the operator of a vehicle or approach a stationary vehicle; (4) If the offender is the operator of or a passenger in a vehicle, stop, attempt to stop, beckon to, attempt to beckon to, or entice another to approach or enter the vehicle of which the offender is the operator or in which the offender is the passenger; (5) Interfere with the free passage of another. ... (d) (1) Whoever violates division (a) of this section is guilty of loitering to engage in solicitation, a misdemeanor of the third degree.
Full Breakdown
Newark's loitering rule is not a general ban on standing around. The City Council of Newark, Ohio, enacted § 666.085 in Chapter 666 of the Codified Ordinances, and it targets one purpose: soliciting another person to engage in sexual activity for hire. The offender must act with that purpose and must be in or near a public place. Five kinds of conduct then count: beckoning to, stopping, or attempting to stop another person; engaging or attempting to engage another in conversation; stopping or attempting to stop the operator of a vehicle or approaching a stationary vehicle; enticing someone to approach or enter a vehicle when the offender is the operator or a passenger; and interfering with the free passage of another.
Division (c) defines a public place broadly. It covers a street, road, highway, thoroughfare, bikeway, walkway, sidewalk, bridge, alley, alleyway, plaza, park, driveway, parking lot or transportation facility, plus a doorway or entrance way to a building that fronts on one of those places, plus any other place open to the public. A vehicle has the meaning given in Ohio R.C. 4501.01, which the Newark code adopts by reference.
Division (b) adds a separate offense for a person who knows he or she has tested positive as a carrier of a virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and engages in the conduct described in division (a). Division (d)(2) classifies that as loitering to engage in solicitation after a positive HIV test, a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate state law, so it leaves the Newark municipal court docket.
Newark has two other loitering provisions worth knowing. Section 624.16, loitering for the purpose of engaging in drug-related activity, now carries an editor's note that voters repealed it by initiative petition on November 8, 2016. Section 648.10 separately bars a person from loitering or loafing on the premises of a railroad or bus company at a depot in the City after a company officer or a police officer has asked the person to leave. The Newark Division of Police enforces these sections within the city limits. Heath, Granville, Newark Township and unincorporated Licking County are separate jurisdictions with their own rules.
Violations & Fines
Under § 666.085(d)(1), a violation of division (a) is loitering to engage in solicitation, a misdemeanor of the third degree. Under § 666.085(d)(2), a violation of division (b), which applies to a person who knows of a positive test as a carrier of a virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate state law.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to simply stand on a sidewalk in Newark, Ohio?
What counts as a public place under the Newark solicitation rule?
Does Newark still have a drug loitering ordinance?
What is the penalty for loitering to engage in solicitation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Newark
Compare Newark to another location·View the Ohio public conduct overview
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