State’s First Transgender Lawmaker Sentenced To Jail
A former New Hampshire state representative, once recognized as the state’s first openly transgender lawmaker, has been sentenced to 33 years in prison after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation charges. Stacie…
A former New Hampshire state representative, once recognized as the state’s first openly transgender lawmaker, has been sentenced to 33 years in prison after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation charges.
Stacie Laughton, formerly known as Barry Laughton, was elected to the New Hampshire Legislature in 2012. At the time, HuffPost reported that Laughton hoped the election would help others in the community “feel inspired.” More than a decade later, Laughton is now at the center of a disturbing child abuse case involving a daycare worker and sexually explicit images of young children.
According to the New Hampshire Union Leader, Laughton received the 33-year sentence Thursday after pleading guilty to child sex abuse charges.
The case also involved Laughton’s partner, Lindsay Groves, who worked at Creative Minds daycare in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, between May 2022 and June 2023. The New York Post previously reported that Laughton, 41, and Groves, 40, exchanged text messages about taking sexually explicit photographs of children at the daycare.
In November, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced that Laughton had pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of children. Groves pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of distribution of child pornography.
Prosecutors said Groves took photographs of children between the ages of 3 and 5 while working at the daycare, then sent those images to Laughton. The Boston Herald, citing court filings, reported that Groves brought children into a bathroom where others could not see what was happening and used a cell phone to create graphic images of them.
The text messages cited in reports showed that Laughton understood the seriousness of what they were discussing. In one exchange, Laughton reportedly wrote, “I don’t wanna get caught if we do,” adding that many parents do not want people touching their children and that it was illegal.
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The messages also included religious references. Laughton, who had expressed interest in becoming a minister, asked Groves whether God would forgive them and whether there was still a place for them in heaven. Groves responded that God was “OK with it” and that Laughton would still be a good minister, according to the New York Post.
The pair were exposed after a third person received the images and contacted authorities.
The case prompted anger from people connected to the victims and the community. The Boston Herald reported that during one of Groves’ early court appearances, a woman in the gallery shouted that Groves should “rot in jail.”
Groves was sentenced to 22 years and 10 months in prison, according to the Boston Herald.
The case is horrifying because of the victims involved: very young children who were supposed to be safe in a daycare setting. It is also a reminder that institutions trusted with children carry an enormous responsibility to protect them, respond quickly to warning signs, and ensure that abuse is reported and prosecuted when it occurs.