What the statute provides
§ 11-34.1-5(a): records of any person convicted, placed on probation, or whose case was filed under § 12-10-12, for a violation of § 11-34.1-2 or § 11-34.1-4, "may be expunged one year after completion of that person's sentence."
§ 11-34.1-5(b): the motion is filed in accordance with Chapter 12-1.3 and "may be granted in the court's discretion regardless of the person's first offender status."
Why that last clause matters so much
Every other conviction path in Rhode Island turns on your record. The first-offender path requires that you have no prior conviction or probation at all. The multiple-misdemeanor path requires fewer than six misdemeanors and no felonies.
This section sets that aside. A prior record that would close every other door does not close this one — the statute says so in terms.
It reaches probation and filings too
The section is not limited to convictions. It covers a person "convicted, placed on probation, or whose case was filed pursuant to § 12-10-12" for the named offenses, which is broader than most expungement provisions.
If the offense happened because you were trafficked
There is a stronger remedy. § 11-67.1-17 allows a person convicted of prostitution or solicitation committed as a direct result of being a trafficking victim to move to vacate the conviction — not merely seal or expunge it — with no waiting period at all.
