Every person, firm, association, or corporation which shall publish, sell, offer for sale, loan, give away, or otherwise distribute any book, magazine, pamphlet, or other publication, or any photograph, picture, or film which depicts any child, or children, under the age of eighteen (18) years and known to be under the age of eighteen (18) years of age by the person, firm, association, or corporation in a setting which taken as a whole suggests to the average person that the child, or children, is about to engage in or has engaged in, any sexual act, or which depicts any child under eighteen (18) years of age performing sodomy, oral copulation, sexual intercourse, masturbation, or bestiality, shall, for the first offense, be punished by imprisonment for not more than ten (10) years, or by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both; for any subsequent offense, by imprisonment for not more than fifteen (15) years, or by a fine of not more than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000), or both. Provided, that artistic drawings, sketches, paintings, sculptures, or other artistic renditions, shall be exempt from the provisions of this section.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-9-1.1