It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Chapter 11-5 of the General Laws entitled "Assaults" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

{ADD 11-5-14.2. Battery by an adult upon children ten (10) years of age or younger--Serious bodily injury. -- (a) Any person eighteen (18) years of age or older who shall commit a battery upon a child ten (10) years of age or younger, causing serious bodily injury, shall be deemed to have committed a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than five (5) years but not more than twenty (20) years and a fine of not less than five thousand ($5,000) dollars nor more than twenty thousand ($20,000) dollars.

(b) "Serious bodily injury" means physical injury that (1) creates a substantial risk of death, or (2) causes protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily part, member or organ, or (3) causes serious permanent disfigurement. ADD}

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.