The maximum punishment in the Department of Corrections is 2.5 years. The maximum fine is $1,000.
“Ice cream” means any frozen dairy or water-based food product. “Ice cream truck” means any motor vehicle used for selling, displaying or offering to sell ice cream or any other frozen dairy or frozen water-based food product. “Ice cream truck vending” means the selling, displaying, or offering to sell ice cream, water-based food product, or any other prepackaged food product from an ice cream truck.
Note that this law deals specifically with the sale of ice cream and similar items. It doesn’t apply to food trucks. In 2016, some parents were upset that a registered sex offender was running a food trailer with reckless abandon. A sex offender in a food truck is ok so long as he or she stays at least 500 ft away from a school, park, and other locations associated with children. There was apparently no incident in Oklahoma that inspired this law, but there were recent events in New York and Florida where convicted sex offenders operating ice cream trucks were convicted of harming children. However, some say the idea that ice cream men are cruising around looking for kids to victimize is an urban myth.
Duty to Check Background
Any company engaged in the business of ice cream truck vending has to conduct an annual name search against the Oklahoma Sex Offender Registry for each ice cream truck operator prior to allowing the person to engage in the business of ice cream truck vending. Each business has to maintain records or other proof that a name search was conducted on each ice cream truck operator and that each person searched has no requirement to register as a sex offender. Any business entity discovering that a person has operated, or has attempted to operate, an ice cream truck must report such information to the district attorney. It’s a misdemeanor to fails to report information of violations or comply with records or name search requirements.
The maximum punishment in jail is one year. The maximum fine is $500.
Individuals engaged in the business of ice cream truck vending who are sole proprietors are required to sign, and have in the person’s possession while operating an ice cream truck, a notarized statement signed under oath stating that the person is not required to register as a sex offender. The statement must be renewed annually. It’s a misdemeanor to fails to comply with the requirement to have a signed and notarized statement in the person’s possession while operating an ice cream truck.
The maximum punishment in jail is one year. The maximum fine is $500.
Sources: 21 O.S. §§ 10, 2100, 2100.1, and 2100.2
Current as of March 27, 2020. Laws are subject to change at any time! Go to the sources cited above for the most up-to-date law.