Former Lawmaker Sentenced to Prison in Child Exploitation Case

A former New Hampshire state representative, Stacie Marie Laughton, has been sentenced to over 33 years in federal prison. Laughton admitted to receiving nude photographs of children taken at a Massachusetts daycare. This information is according to a report from WCVB, a local news outlet.

Laughton, age 41 from Nashua, pled guilty to charges of sexual exploitation of children. The images were received from Lindsay Groves, Laughton’s former partner. Groves, a 40-year-old from Hudson, New Hampshire, was sentenced to 22 years earlier this month.

The Nashua Police Department confirmed the guilty plea of the former Democratic representative. Groves was previously employed at Creative Minds daycare located in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts. She also pled guilty to charges, including three counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of distributing child pornography. This information is based on a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

Between May 2022 and June 2023, Groves took explicit photos of prepubescent children. These were taken during routine diaper changes at the daycare before nap time.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Groves then sent these photos to Laughton through text messages. A forensic investigation of their cellphones revealed over 10,000 text messages exchanged in a single month in 2023. These messages included discussions of explicit images involving young children, aged 3 to 5. Using her position at the daycare, Groves captured these illegal images and shared them with Laughton.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office assured that all involved children have been identified, and their families were notified by authorities.

The Hillsborough County jail confirmed to NH Journal that Laughton is housed within the male inmate population.

Requests for comments from Creative Minds Early Learning Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office were not immediately answered by Fox News Digital.

Alexandra Koch, a journalist with Fox News Digital, covers breaking news with a focus on significant national events. Her coverage includes the L.A. wildfires, Potomac and Hudson River aviation incidents, Boulder terror attack, and Texas Hill Country floods.