Stacie-Marie Laughton, a 39-year-old former New Hampshire state representative, has been charged with sexual exploitation of children and aiding and abetting by a federal court in Massachusetts. Laughton, a transgender woman, was charged alongside her former partner, Lindsay Groves, a daycare worker. The charges stem from an investigation revealing over 10,000 text messages between Laughton and Groves, which allegedly included explicit photos of children taken by Groves at the Creative Minds daycare where she worked. The images reportedly depicted children aged three to five, and the text exchanges also contained descriptions of sexual contact with both adults and children.

This is not Laughton's first encounter with law enforcement. Previously elected to the New Hampshire legislature in 2012, Laughton was unable to serve due to being on probation for a 2008 felony credit card fraud conviction. Laughton's past also includes arrests for a bomb threat against Southern New Hampshire Medical Center in 2015 and misuse of the state's 911 texting system in 2021. Despite this history, Laughton was re-elected in 2022 but was not seated due to further legal troubles, including stalking charges. This latest arrest in June was related to the alleged distribution of explicit images of children.

The investigation remains active, and Laughton's federal court appearance in Boston is pending.