Stacie-Marie Laughton, a former legislator from New Hampshire and recognized as the first openly transgender elected official in U.S. history, has admitted guilt in federal court to charges related to child sex abuse.
In a Boston federal courtroom, the 41-year-old former politician confessed to charges that involve the sexual exploitation of children, particularly focusing on child sexual abuse materials, as reported by WMUR.
Laughton, who is referred to by authorities with feminine pronouns, was accused of collaborating with her former partner, Lindsay Groves, in the exploitation of children at a daycare center named Creative Minds, located in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts.
Groves, who previously worked at the daycare, allegedly took nude photographs of children and sent them to Laughton in 2022 while Laughton was serving as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives.
Images released by authorities include those from the Nashua Police Department and Lane Turner of The Boston Globe, highlighting the case of former New Hampshire lawmaker Stacie-Marie Laughton, who recently admitted to child sex abuse charges in federal court.
An affidavit from that year detailed that Groves took four photographs of children, all under the age of five.
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.
