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A former New Hampshire legislator once celebrated for breaking barriers as the state’s first openly transgender lawmaker has pleaded guilty to federal child exploitation charges.
According to WMUR and federal court filings, Stacie-Marie Laughton, 41, entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Boston to charges related to the possession and distribution of illegal materials involving minors.
Prosecutors say Laughton conspired with Lindsay Groves, a former daycare employee in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts. In 2023, Laughton was arrested and held in jail on preventive detention pending arraignment to four counts of distribution of child sexual abuse images. She was further charged with aiding and abetting in the sexual exploitation of children. Investigators say that Groves sent the child sexual abuse images to Laughton in 2022, while Laughton was serving in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.
Authorities first announced the case in 2023 following Groves’ arrest. According to the criminal complaint, digital communications between the two defendants played a key role in the investigation.
A Political Rise and Fall
Laughton made history in 2012 as the first openly transgender person elected to a state legislature in the United States. However, her tenure in public office was marked by a series of legal challenges. Soon after being elected, she withdrew from her seat due to an earlier conviction involving financial misconduct.
Despite those issues, she successfully ran for office again in 2020 and represented Nashua’s Ward 3 until 2022, when she resigned following a separate arrest related to a stalking incident.
The Case’s Broader Impact
Child safety advocates say the case highlights the importance of rigorous background checks and stronger oversight of individuals who hold positions of trust, whether in childcare settings or public office. The incident has also reignited discussions about institutional accountability and the systems that fail to protect children from exploitation.
Federal authorities have not yet announced a sentencing date. Both defendants remain in custody pending further proceedings. For the record, 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.
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