OAN’s Shawntel Smith-Hill
11:43 AM – Thursday, July 20, 2023
Federal prosecutors from Massachusetts announced Tuesday that a former Democrat New Hampshire state representative who identifies as transgender has been charged in a case involving the sexual exploitation of children at a Massachusetts-based daycare center.
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According to a press release from the office of the U.S. District Attorney for Massachusetts, Stacie-Marie Laughton, 39, of Nashua, New Hampshire, was charged with one count of sexual exploitation of children as well as aiding and abetting former partner, Lindsay Groves, in a child pornography case.
Groves was previously accused of taking nude photos of children at the Creative Minds Early Learning Center in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, a daycare center where she worked. She was also accused of sending those images to another person and was charged with both sexual exploitation of children and the distribution of child pornography.
Tuesday’s press release found that “a preliminary forensic review of Groves’ cellphone purportedly revealed over 10,000 text messages between Laughton and Groves that included discussion about, and transfer of, explicit photographs that Groves had taken of children while employed at Creative Minds daycare, including at least four sexually explicit images of children who appear to be approximately three to five years old, as well as explicit descriptions of sex with each other and others, including children.”
In some of the revealed texts, it was alleged that Laughton even encouraged Groves to engage in sexual contact with the children.
Prosecutors in the case have stated that “the investigation remains ongoing.”
Laughton, a Democrat, was elected to the New Hampshire legislature back in 2012. However, Laughton was forced to resign after numerous reports surfaced about his convictions related to identity fraud and falsifying evidence back in 2008.
Laughton somehow escaped the judicial accusations and was able to successfully run again in 2020. He was eventually re-elected in 2022 before being jailed for multiple stalking-related charges in connection with Groves.
Both Laughton and Groves are currently in state custody.
The press release added that “Laughton will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.”
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