Former State Rep. Stacie Laughton, 39, of Derry, has been charged with four counts of distributing child sexual abuse images. (Photo Courtesy of the Nashua Police Department)

NASHUA – Former State Rep. Stacie Laughton, 39, of Derry, was recently taken into custody by Nashua Police on a felony arrest warrant and now faces four counts of distributing child sexual abuse images.

According to police, officers responded to a “local facility for a juvenile matter” on June 20. Upon arrival, they were allegedly informed that Laughton had distributed sexually explicit images of children. Police were then granted a felony arrest warrant and Laughton was captured on June 22.

She was held on preventative detention and waived her arraignment at Hillsborough Superior Court on June 23.

Laughton’s June 22 arrest is the latest incident in a series of criminal activities. According to police, she was arrested in 2022 for stalking a woman in Hudson. In 2021, she was arrested for misusing New Hampshire’s 911 texting system. In 2015, Laughton was charged with making a bomb threat against Southern New Hampshire Medical Center.

Under state law, if convicted, Laughton could face up to 30 years in prison.

Also on June 22, Nashua Police responded to a similar matter as Lindsay Groves, 38, of Hudson, was charged with one count of sexual exploitation of children and one count of distributing child pornography.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Groves was previously employed at Creative Minds, a daycare center in Tyngsborough.

Groves is accused of taking several nude pictures of children at Creative Minds and sending them to a former romantic partner via text message. Reportedly, at least four of the pictures were of children as young as three years old. It is alleged that Groves had been taking the pictures since May 2022.

While reviewing the content on Groves’ cellphone, law enforcement officials allegedly discovered more than 2,500 text messages between Groves and her former romantic partner discussing the explicit pictures she had taken.

Groves was arraigned in Hillsborough Superior Court and was ordered to be held without bail, to not work at any childcare facility and to stay off the Internet. She was also ordered not to have unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 and not to have contact with anyone at Creative Minds.

Under state law, if convicted, Groves could face up to 30 years in prison.

Newsletter