Nation’s First Elected Transgender Lawmaker Arrested

In 2012, Stacie-Marie Laughton became the first transgender person elected to a state legislature in the United States. She has since been arrested on allegations of child pornography.

Laughton, 39, was apprehended on Thursday for spreading sexually explicit photographs of children. Nashua Police Department public relations officer Sgt. John Cinelli stated that detectives were given information about the offenses while visiting a local juvenile institution.

“They spoke with reporting parties that indicated Laughton distributed,” Sgt. John Cinelli said. “Detectives from the special investigations division were assigned to further the investigation. They applied for and were granted a warrant for Laughton’s arrest.”

After his involvement in a credit card fraud operation came to light, Laughton, who had been elected in 2012, was never seated.

Although Laughton never took his place in the legislature after resigning, he did try to run again in a special election. After it became public that Laughton’s fraud conviction would make him ineligible to run for office for at least ten years, this was deemed unacceptable.

According to MSN:

After paying restitution on the fraud charge from 2008 and serving the good behavior clause, Laughton was allowed to run for office again in 2019. Laughton was elected state representative in 2020. She was elected selectman in 2011, 2019, and 2021.

She was arrested in July 2021 on seven counts of penalty for false information, accused of misusing the state’s 911 texting system.

According to a report on Patch, she claimed she was being spoofed at the time.

Laughton was re-elected again in November 2022 but resigned after being arrested again, accused of stalking a woman in Hudson.

The stalking incidents occurred in late August 2022 and she was arrested in early September.

She was able to keep the arrest under wraps and away from voters, and easily placed second in the primary. She was arrested again after the November election.