Former NH Democrat Rep. Laughton Facing 30 Years For Child Porn

By Damien Fisher, NH Journal

Former Democratic lawmaker Stacie Marie Laughton, who made history as the nation’s first transgender state representative, is set to make history again as the state’s first legislator to spend decades behind bars on federal child pornography convictions.

Laughton, 41, born Barry Laughton, took a plea deal last week in the sickening case that’s kept him behind bars since 2023. Laughton could now get up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of child sex abuse images — images provided by ex-girlfriend and co-defendant Lindsay Groves, 40.

Groves entered into her own plea agreement last month, admitting to sending Laughton explicit photos of children she was supposed to be minding at the Massachusetts daycare where she worked. The couple is now set to be sentenced in February in the federal court in Boston.

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Laughton and Groves share a messy history as a couple, along with their horrific sexual tastes. According to court records, Laughton repeatedly tried to get Groves fired from her daycare job during a 2022 breakup, claiming Groves was a pedophile. Laughton reported Groves to the police and additionally used his social media and radio program to accuse Groves of pedophilia, according to court records.

Those 2022 accusations were deemed false and ended up being part of the November 2022 stalking case against Laughton that landed the Nashua politician behind bars weeks after his election to the House. Democrats waited weeks to finally push Laughton to resign his seat that December.

But a year after Laughton’s accusations were seemingly discounted, the pair were arrested for actual pedophilia. According to court records, Groves had been texting Laughton nude photos of children from her daycare in the spring of 2022 as Laughton mused about child rape.

“I just don’t wanna get in trouble. I mean I want to do what we want to do because we like it and we approve of it but others think this is wrong. Lots of parents don’t like people touching their kids and it is against the law …” Laughton texted to Groves.

Laughton and Groves are unlikely to see each other again for some time. Groves is a biological woman and has been held in women’s facilities during the pre-trial incarceration. Laughton, on the other hand, has been held in men’s facilities since his 2023 arrest.

The convictions effectively close the possibility of a third act for the Nashua Democrat.

First elected in 2012, Laughton was forced to resign when his criminal past was uncovered. At the time of the 2012 election, Laughton was still on probation for a 2008 felony credit card fraud conviction, and therefore ineligible for office under New Hampshire law.

But Laughton returned to politics in 2019 after finally paying the court-ordered $2,000 restitution in the credit card fraud case, and was again elected to the House in 2020. State Democrats and voters seemed willing to overlook Laughton’s 2015 conviction for making bomb threats against Southern New Hampshire Medical Center.

Laughton’s second act ended with the 2022 stalking case, which resulted in a suspended jail sentence.

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.