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Who is Stacie-Marie Laughton? Openly-trans former Rep admits to child sex charges; past crimes explained
Stacie-Marie Laughton is a former Democratic New Hampshire state representative, who recently pleaded guilty in a child sex abuse images case.
Former Democratic New Hampshire state representative, Stacie-Marie Laughton pleaded guilty in a Boston federal court in a child sex abuse images case. The charges included sexual exploitation of children, WMUR reported last week.
Stacie-Marie Laughton was reportedly the first openly trans US lawmaker and had been hailed as a trailblazer earlier, as per New York Post. Laughton is a biological male who identifies as a female, and now faces up to 30 years in federal jail.
What to know about the Stacie-Marie Laughton case
Laughton's plea comes after former partner, Lindsay Groves, admitted in October that she'd taken sexually explicit photos of children at the Massachusetts day care where she worked, and had sent them to the former lawmaker.
Federal investigators noted that four photos of kids, appearing to be between 3 and 5, were sent to Laughton, as per WMUR. As per officials, it was Laughton who'd asked Groves for the photos, and the two exchanged several texts about the same.
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The two had been indicted in August 2023, on three counts of sexually exploiting kids. The photos were reportedly taken between May and June 2022, at the Creative Minds day care where Groves worked. She ‘used natural bathroom breaks for the children’ to photograph them, documents shared by the New Hampshire Union Leader have revealed. They are now due to be sentenced in February.
Who is Stacie-Marie Laughton; what are the past crimes?
Laughton served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 2020 to 2022, and represented District 31 in Hillsborough County. Previously, the Democrat had been elected to the chamber in 2012, to represent Nashua's Ward 4.
After Laughton's election, media reports surfaced that in 2008, she'd been sentenced to seven and a half to fifteen years in jail for conspiracy to commit credit card fraud and an additional three and a half to seven years for faking physical evidence.
Laughton hadn't disclosed this at the time of the election, and the row which ensued made the former lawmaker decide to resign from the position. Laughton had planned to run in 2012 again, but problems over the past sentencing continued to interfere, forcing the Democrat to abandon these plans in 2013. In 2019, Laughton ran for and won the selectman in Nashua. In 2020, Laughton won the seat in the House of Representatives. The Democrat was re-elected in 2022 but then resigned after an arrest for stalking.
In 2015, Laughton had a warrant out for arrest over a bomb threat called in to the Southern New Hampshire Medical Center. Laughton went to the cops, and had the charges later reduced to a misdemeanor. Then, in 2022, Laughton was arrested and charged with stalking.
