Summit County, OH Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Sec. 533.091
- Applies in
- Unincorporated Summit County only
- Base offense level
- Misdemeanor, third degree
- HIV-positive tier
- Felony under state law
- State law tracked
- ORC 2907.24, 2907.241
- Covered locations
- Streets, parks, lots, doorways, transit
Summary
Summit County's only codified loitering offense targets loitering to solicit paid sexual activity. Under Sec. 533.091, no one may beckon to, stop, or interfere with another person in or near a public place with the purpose of soliciting sex for hire; violators face a third-degree misdemeanor.
533.091 LOITERING TO ENGAGE IN SOLICITATION.
(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 subsection (a) of this section is guilty of loitering to engage in solicitation, a misdemeanor of the third degree.
Full Breakdown
Summit County Codified Ordinances Sec. 091, Loitering to Engage in Solicitation, is the county's operative loitering law for unincorporated Summit County (Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, Barberton, Stow and Hudson enforce their own separate municipal codes). It does not criminalize loitering generally; it is narrowly tied to solicitation of sexual activity for hire. The section bars five specific acts done "with purpose to solicit another to engage in sexual activity for hire and while in or near a public place": beckoning to or stopping another person, engaging or attempting to engage another in conversation, stopping or approaching the operator of a vehicle, using a vehicle to beckon or entice another to enter it, or interfering with another person's free passage.
"Public place" is defined broadly in subsection (c)(1) to cover streets, roads, highways, bikeways, walkways, sidewalks, bridges, alleys, alleyways, plazas, parks, driveways, parking lots and transportation facilities, plus doorways or entrances fronting on those places, and any other place open to the public. C. 01. A second, more serious tier applies to anyone who engages in this loitering conduct while knowing they have tested positive as a carrier of the virus that causes AIDS, prosecuted as a felony under state law rather than as a county misdemeanor. C. 10) sections.
Violations & Fines
Violating subsection (a), the loitering-to-solicit conduct itself, is a misdemeanor of the third degree under Sec. 533.091(d)(1). Violating subsection (b), engaging in that conduct while knowingly HIV-positive, is elevated to a felony prosecuted under applicable state law rather than handled as a county misdemeanor, per Sec. 533.091(d)(2).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Summit County have a general loitering law?
What counts as a public place under this section?
Can this law be charged against a driver, not just a pedestrian?
Does this ordinance apply inside Akron or Cuyahoga Falls?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Summit County
Compare Summit County to another location·View the Ohio public conduct overview
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