The first openly transgender person elected to public office in New Hampshire is facing serious charges of child sex abuse after they reportedly had a daycare provider email sexually graphic images of the toddlers in her care.
Stacie Marine Laughton, a former Democrat lawmaker, was recently accused of aiding and abetting the sexual exploitation of minors and faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
Lindsay Groves, 38, a daycare provider in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, was arrested after being suspected of taking sexually graphic photos of children ages three to five. Groves had previously served as a state legislator in New Hampshire.
More than 10,000 text exchanges reveal that Groves and Laughton, who were supposedly dating, discussed sexual images of minors.
Several horrifying chats between the two, in which they fantasized about sexually abusing young children, are documented by the Department of Justice. The full details of their alleged talks in charging records are too gruesome to reprint.
Laughton allegedly instructed Groves to touch a child’s genitalia and to send Laughton a photo of the area for “sexual gratification.”
It is claimed that she took several photographs of the prepubescent children in a private bathroom during “natural bathroom breaks for the children,” such as “routine diaper pull-up changes before naptime.”
Groves, a former teacher at the Creative Minds Early Learning Center, was arrested and charged with child porn distribution and sexual abuse of children last month.
According to the charges, she distributed nude photos of youngsters aged three to five that she had taken.
The maximum term for the sexual exploitation of children is 30 years in jail.
After receiving an anonymous tip, the Nashua Police Department immediately launched an investigation.
Although Laughton was elected in 2012 despite gender nonconformity, he was disqualified from office after news of a 2008 felony conviction for credit card theft became public and was given a 10-year probationary term.
A convicted criminal could not run for office in that state until their sentence had been completed.
In 2002, Laughton was arrested for domestic violence and criminal mischief; in 2003, he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman.
The Southern New Hampshire Medical Center received a bomb threat from her in 2015, and Laughton was arrested for it.
Laughton was again taken into custody in 2021 for allegedly abusing the state’s 911 texting system.
Laughton was elected to represent Nashua, New Hampshire, for a second term in 2022, despite a felony conviction history. Along with fellow Democrats Cote and Fred Davis, Laughton was chosen to represent the Hillsborough 3 district. Joost Baumeister, a Republican, came up around 100 votes short of winning one of the three seats.
