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Former N.H. lawmaker facing federal charge in daycare child porn case
“I am not a kid pervert,” Stacie M. Laughton allegedly wrote in a text to someone she'd sent images of nude children, according to prosecutors.
A former New Hampshire lawmaker is now facing a federal charge in connection with sexually explicit photos of children taken at a Tyngsborough daycare earlier this year.
Stacie M. Laughton, 39, of Nashua, was arrested last month and charged at the state level with distributing child sexual abuse images. Prosecutors allege that her former intimate partner, 38-year-old Lindsay Groves, took nude images of children while working at Creative Minds daycare and sent them to Laughton.
Groves, a resident of Hudson, New Hampshire, faces one charge of sexual exploitation of children and one charge of distribution of child pornography.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced that Laughton — the first openly transgender lawmaker elected in New Hampshire — was federally charged with one count of sexual exploitation of children and aiding and abetting. Laughton resigned her seat in the New Hampshire House of Representatives in December 2022.
More on the case:
Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy’s office said that a preliminary forensic review of Groves’s cellphone revealed more than 10,000 text messages between her and Laughton.
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The conversations featured discussions about photos of children, as well as “explicit descriptions of sex with each other and others, including children,” Levy’s office said in a press release.
According to an affidavit from a Department of Homeland Security agent, Laughton mentioned, showed, or forwarded images of naked children to two other adults, one of whom deleted the images but was able to recover them and show them to police.
“I don’t like that I have these but I wanted to show you the proof,” Laughton allegedly texted the person. “I am not a kid pervert.”
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According to the affidavit, Groves told investigators that Laughton asked her to capture nude images of children at the daycare.
“Groves said she sent the images of children captured from her iPhone to Laughton’s iPhone for Laughton’s sexual gratification,” the affidavit reads.
‘I want to do it with the kids at work’
The court document includes some of the sexually charged text messages the pair allegedly exchanged.
In one June 7 conversation, Laughton allegedly wrote that she “had always wanted to put my dick inside one of the little girls you work with.”
“I want to do it with the kids at work,” Groves replied, according to the affidavit.
Referencing an explicit image of a young girl in a later conversation, Laughton allegedly wrote, “It’s just a bummer she wont let me put my dick inside of her.”
According to the affidavit, Groves replied that the child wasn’t even 3 years old.
Laughton waived her Miranda rights and agreed to speak with investigators, describing her conduct as “feeding Groves’s sexual attraction to minors,” according to the affidavit.
“In reference to the discussions Laughton had with Groves and the pictures taken by Groves, Laughton stated that she should not have ‘tried to coax’ Groves,” the document reads.
Mother files lawsuit against daycare
Groves remains in state custody in New Hampshire; Laughton is set to appear in federal court in Boston at a later date, Levy’s office said.
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The charge of sexual exploitation of children provides for a sentence of at least 15 years and up to 30 years in prison; at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release; and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the press release.
The new charge against Laughton comes one day after a mother filed a lawsuit against Creative Minds in Middlesex Superior Court. The mother — whose name was withheld from court documents for privacy reasons — claimed that Groves had “repeatedly sexually assaulted and abused” her young son.
Her lawsuit alleges that the daycare’s owner and director were told last year that Groves was taking illicit photographs of children at the daycare, but continued to allow her to be alone with the children. The daycare has not yet filed a response in court.
Levy’s office encouraged members of the public with questions, concerns, or information regarding the case to call 617-748-3274. Case information and victim resources are also available online through the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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