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Stacie-Marie Laughton, once a New Hampshire legislator and recognized as the first openly transgender individual elected to such a position in the United States, has admitted guilt to charges related to child sex abuse in a federal court.
The 41-year-old former lawmaker confessed to these offenses in a Boston federal courtroom, as reported by WMUR. The charges encompass the sexual exploitation of minors through the distribution of child sexual abuse materials.
Laughton, identified by authorities using feminine pronouns, is alleged to have conspired with her former partner, Lindsay Groves, to abuse children at the Creative Minds daycare center in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts.
Groves, who was previously employed at the daycare, reportedly took nude images of the children and shared them with Laughton in 2022, during Laughton’s tenure in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.
Stacie-Marie Laughton, formerly a New Hampshire legislator, has accepted responsibility in federal court for charges of child sex abuse. (Image credits: Nashua Police Department; Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
According to an affidavit filed that year, authorities said that Groves took four photos of children under the age of 5.
Per the filing, Laughton and Groves “exchanged thousands of text messages” around the time that the images were sent. In the messages, Laughton expressed interest in having sex with the children, according to investigators.
When Laughton was elected as a state representative in 2012, she was considered to be the first openly transgender person elected to a state legislature. She was also the first one in New Hampshire’s history.
Authorities said Lindsay Groves used her position at the daycare to take the illegal photos later shared with Laughton. (Nashua Police Department)
However, Althea Garrison, a former Massachusetts state representative elected in 1992, was technically the first transgender elected lawmaker, though not openly. She did not come out until shortly after the 1992 election.
Laughton’s political career was marked by complications and legal troubles. Shortly after Laughton was elected in 2012, she announced that she would not serve due to previous felony-level credit card fraud convictions.
She tried to run again in 2014, but the New Hampshire Ballot Law Commission denied her request on the basis of the suspended sentence. In 2020, Laughton ran to represent the New Hampshire House of Representatives for District 31 and won.
Laughton’s plea follows years of legal and personal controversy dating back to her 2012 election. (Hudon Police Department)
She represented Nashua’s Ward 3 until 2022, when she resigned after being arrested over a stalking incident.