Tyngsborough, Mass. -- America's first ever transgender, New Hampshire state lawmaker, is facing criminal charges for allegedly conspiring with a daycare worker to gather sexually explicit photos of children.
Stacie Marie Laughton, a 39-year-old who was born male but now identifies as a female, is charged with aiding and abetting the sexual exploitation of children, the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston said in a statement.
Laughton was arrested in connection with the arrest of daycare worker Lindsay Groves, 38, who is said to have been dating Laughton at one point and the two are believed to have worked together to take sexually explicit photos of children where she worked.
Prosecutors said Tuesday that a preliminary forensic review of Groves’ cellphone allegedly revealed more than 10,000 text messages between Laughton and Groves. The texts allegedly included discussion about, and transfer of, explicit photographs that Groves had taken of children last year who appear to be about 3 to 5 years old.
According to Justice Department documents, the text messages show the couple fantasizing with each other about sexual intercourse with the young children.
“So you would let me f–k the little girls that you work with.” Laughton, the first transgender legislator in New Hampshire history, asked Groves, “And you’re not screenshot Ing this and possibly use it against me at all like we’re both on the same page we both want to do this and he would let me put my d–k inside those little girls I mean what if my d–k is too big I mean its big but its not that big I think you could fit in there and if it doesn’t fit all the way then I could stop I don’t want to hurt them.”
“If they want your d–k inside them,” Groves responded.
“Would you let the little girls suck my d–k,” Laughton said.
“It’s their choice,” said Groves.
The documents allege that Laughton instructed Groves to touch a child’s genitals and she placed her hand “adjacent” to the child’s genitals and sent it to Laughton for his sexual gratification.
Groves, a former employee at Creative Minds Early Learning Center in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, was charged last month with sexual exploitation of children and distribution of child pornography for allegedly taking nude photos of the 3- to 5-year-old children and disseminating them.
Department of Justice documents show several sickening conversations between the pair, who fantasized about sexually assaulting young children. Their alleged conversations were detailed in full in charging documents, but are too horrific to reproduce.
The former couple shared warped fantasies about sexual acts they wanted to perform on the children and discussed them in graphic detail, it is alleged.
Groves was reportedly in a relationship with Laughton at one point
According to documents Laughton told Groves to touch a child’s genitals, so she took a picture and sent it to her for ‘sexual gratification’.
She 'allegedly used natural bathroom breaks for the children,' such as 'routine diaper pull-up changes prior to naptime ... to take multiple photos of the prepubescent children in a private bathroom.’
Groves, a former employee at Creative Minds Early Learning Center was charged last month with sexual exploitation of children and distribution of child pornography.
She is accused of taking naked pictures of the three- to five-year-old children and disseminating them, according to charging documents.
The charge of sexual exploitation of children can lead to a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
Nashua Police Department began an investigation into the allegations after receiving an anonymous tip off.
Laughton was born a man and elected in 2012, but was unable to serve after his criminal past emerged in which he was sentenced to 10 years probation stemming from a 2008 felony conviction for credit card fraud.
State laws prohibited convicted felons from holding office until the final discharge of their sentence.
In 2012, he was elected along with two Democrats - David Cole and Mary Gorman - to represent the Hillsborgouh 31 district. The three all received more votes than both Republican challengers, Elizabeth Van Twuyver and Richard Heitmiller.
He was arrested for domestic violence/criminal mischief in 2002 and also had a sexual assault charge against a woman in 2003.
In 2015, he was arrested for making a bomb threat against the Southern New Hampshire Medical Center.
In 2021, he was arrested once again for misusing the state's 911 texting system.
Despite his criminal past, Laughton still ran for a second term in 2022 and was elected to represent Nashua, New Hampshire. He was elected to represent the Hillsborough 3 district along with Democrats Cote and Fred Davis. Republican Joost Baumeister lost earning one of the three seats by about 100 votes.
However, once again, he was unable to take office having been jailed on stalking charges. He was accused of stalking Groves.
When he resigned his House seed in 2022, he posted a video to social media about his issues. Transcript follows:
'As of today, I’m no longer a state representative which is very disappointing, but I’m going to come back to it,' Laughton said, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader. 'I will be attending mental health court and getting some counseling and trying to get my life back on track. I’m not perfect. Even in the future I still won’t be perfect but I will be a better version of myself and better able to handle situations that come my way. In two years, the next state election, I will run for state representative again.'
The charge of sexual exploitation of children can lead to a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
If you believe a child is being exploited or sexually abused please call phone number: 866.FOR.LIGHT (866.367.5444) or call Childhelp® at phone number: 800.4.A.CHILD (800.422.4453) who specialize in child abuse victims, parents, concerned individuals.
