UNION LEADER – Former state Rep. Stacie Marie Laughton of Derry, New Hampshire, the first openly transgender person elected to the N.H. House of Representatives, was arrested Thursday by Nashua police on charges of distributing child sexual abuse images, officials said.
On Tuesday, June 20, Nashua police responded to a local facility for a juvenile matter, officials said in a release. Officers spoke with individuals there who indicated Laughton allegedly distributed sexually explicit images of children, police said.
Detectives from the Special Investigations Division applied for and were granted a warrant for Laughton’s arrest.
Laughton was arrested Thursday with distribution of child sexual abuse images. Laughton was also charged with three additional counts of distribution of child sexual abuse images, Nashua police said.
Laughton was held on preventative detention, and is scheduled to be arraigned at Hillsborough Superior Court-South on Friday.
Laughton, a former Democratic state representative from Nashua, resigned the Ward 4 seat in the House in December 2022.
At the time, Laughton posted a video on Facebook announcing the resignation to friends, family and supporters.
“As of today, I’m no longer a state representative which is very disappointing, but I’m going to come back to it,” Laughton says in the video. “I will be attending mental health court and getting some counseling and trying to get my life back on track.”
According to published reports, Laughton was arrested for stalking in September 2022, and again later that same year.
Laughton was arrested on a warrant in Hudson on a stalking order charge, and accused by police of communicating with the victim on social media on Nov. 8.
Laughton was also accused of stalking and harassment, according to Nashua police …
