First openly trans lawmaker admits to sickening child sex charges
In this DML Report…
Stacie-Marie Laughton, 41, a biological male who identifies as female, pleaded guilty last week in Boston federal court to sexual exploitation of children and sharing child pornography. Laughton, the first openly transgender person elected to a U.S. state legislature as a New Hampshire House Democrat in 2012, admitted to receiving four explicit images of children aged 3 to 5 from former partner Lindsay Groves. The photos were taken in the bathroom of Creative Minds daycare in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, where Groves worked, during natural bathroom breaks between May and June 2022. Laughton requested the images and exchanged thousands of text messages with Groves about them.
Laughton was indicted in August 2023 on three counts of sexual exploitation of children alongside Groves, who pleaded guilty last month to sexual exploitation and distribution of child pornography. The charges stem from Groves capturing the images at the daycare near Nashua and sending them directly to Laughton. Laughton had previously been forced to resign twice from the New Hampshire House due to separate legal issues and has three prior felony convictions from 2008 for credit card fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud.
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Sentencing is scheduled for February, where Laughton faces 15 to 30 years in federal prison, lifetime supervised release, and a fine up to $250,000. The case involves federal charges with no additional statements from authorities noted in court records.