First trans NH state rep sentenced to 33 years in prison for child sex crimes
Hannah Nightingale
Lindsay Groves, Stacie Marie Laughton’s former partner, was sentenced to nearly 22 years.
A trans-identified male who was the first openly transgender person to be elected to a state legislature has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for charges that include sexual exploitation of children.
Per Reduxx, Stacie Marie Laughton, born Barry Charles Laughton Jr, was sentenced on Tuesday, while Lindsay Groves, Laughton’s former partner, was sentenced to nearly 22 years. Laughton was first elected as a Democratic representative in New Hampshire, and was first elected to the role in 2012. He ultimately withdrew from the role before officially taking office after it was revealed he had served four months in prison in 2008 on felony fraud charges. He ultimately ended up winning and serving in the state legislature between 2020 and 2022.
Laughton had first been charged in 2023 after a report was given to the Nashua Police Department in New Hampshire that Laughton had sent child sex abuse images to another person, who brought the images to police. Police confirmed that Laughton had sent four images to the person over text messages depicting the genitalia of young children.
In an interview with NPD, Laughton admitted to receiving child sex abuse images from Groves, who had been an employee the Creative Minds Early Learning Center in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts. Groves admitted to police that she took the images, and said it was after Laughton, who expressed a sexual interest in children, had asked her to.
Through a search warrant, authorities found over 10,000 messages exchanged between the two, which included explicit discussion of the sexual abuse of children. Groves had taken explicit images of children at her job and sent them to Laughton, including images of children as young as three. Groves had told the young children to expose their genitals for the camera, with photos being taken during bathroom breaks or diaper changes.