Legal/Law/Criminal Justice and Reform

State’s First Elected Transgender Rep Arrested On Child Porn Charges

No featured image available

New Hampshire’s first elected transgender Rep. Stacie Laughton was arrested on child porn charges on Thursday, Patch reported.

Nashua police responded to a juvenile matter and spoke to individuals who indicated Laughton distributed pornographic images of children. Laughton was elected in 2012 but resigned before taking office because Laughton’s criminal record was revealed, Patch reported.

Initially Laughton’s criminal history was unknown during the election because the criminal charges were under Laughton’s legal name before Laughton transitioned, according to Patch. In 2008 Laughton spent four and a half months in jail for conspiracy to commit credit card fraud; Laughton was also accused of tire slashing and faking an illness to get a ride from an ambulance.

Laughton has since built up an extensive criminal history.

In 2015 Laughton was arrested on a felony charge on the accusation of making a bomb threat against the Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, which Laughton attributed to a mental health problem.

Laughton was allowed to run for office again in 2019 after paying restitution on the 2008 fraud charge, according to Patch. Laughton was arrested in 2021 on seven counts of penalty for false information and was accused of misusing the state’s 911 texting system, Patch reported.

Laughton was reelected in November 2022 but resigned after being arrested on suspicion of stalking a woman, according to Patch.