Trans Democrat lawmaker allegedly conspired to sexually exploit kids with daycare employee

A transgender former New Hampshire state lawmaker is dealing with felony expenses for allegedly conspiring with a daycare employee to assemble sexually specific pictures of kids.

Stacie Marie Laughton, a 39-year-old who was born male however now identifies as a feminine, is charged with aiding and abetting the sexual exploitation of kids, the U.S. lawyer’s workplace in Boston mentioned in an announcement.

Laughton was arrested in reference to the arrest of daycare employee Lindsay Groves, 38, who is claimed to have been courting Laughton at one level and the 2 are believed to have labored collectively to take sexually specific pictures of kids the place she labored. 

Prosecutors mentioned Tuesday {that a} preliminary forensic overview of Groves’ cellphone allegedly revealed greater than 10,000 textual content messages between Laughton and Groves. The texts allegedly included dialogue about, and switch of, specific images that Groves had taken of kids final yr who look like about 3 to five years outdated.

In line with Justice Division paperwork, the textual content messages present the couple fantasizing with one another about sexual activity with the younger kids.

“So you’d let me f–okay the little ladies that you simply work with.” Laughton, the primary transgender legislator in New Hampshire historical past, requested Groves, “And also you’re not screenshot Ing this and presumably use it towards me in any respect like we’re each on the identical web page we each wish to do that and he would let me put my d–okay inside these little ladies I imply what if my d–okay is just too large I imply its large however its not that large I believe you can slot in there and if it doesn’t match all the way in which then I might cease I don’t wish to damage them.”

“If they need your d–okay inside them,” Groves responded.

“Would you let the little ladies suck my d–okay,” Laughton mentioned.

“It’s their selection,” mentioned Groves.

The paperwork allege that Laughton instructed Groves to the touch a toddler’s genitals and he or she positioned her hand “adjoining” to the kid’s genitals and despatched it to Laughton for his sexual gratification. 

Groves, a former worker at Inventive Minds Early Studying Heart in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, was charged final month with sexual exploitation of kids and distribution of kid pornography for allegedly taking nude pictures of the 3- to 5-year-old kids and disseminating them. 

Laughton, a Democrat, was first elected in 2012 to the New Hampshire state legislature however resigned after an identification fraud conviction from 2008 surfaced. Laughton ran once more efficiently in 2020 and was re-elected in 2022 however resigned in December after being charged with stalking Groves.

The cost of sexual exploitation of kids can result in a sentence of as much as 30 years in jail.

The Related Press contributed to this report.