A former New Hampshire state lawmaker has been charged in connection with case involving a former daycare worker accused of taking nude photos of children at a Massachusetts daycare center and texting them to another person.

Stacie Marie Laughton, 39, was charged with aiding and abetting the sexual exploitation of children, according to the US attorney’s office in Boston.

Laughton is the former partner of Lindsay Groves, 38, who was charged with month with sexually exploiting children and distribution of child pornography involving children at Creative Minds Early Learning Center in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, where she worked.

“A preliminary forensic review of Groves’ cellphone allegedly revealed over 10,000 text messages between Laughton and Groves that included discussion about, and transfer of, explicit photographs that Groves had taken of children while employed at Creative Minds daycare – including at least four sexually explicit images of children who appear to be approximately three to five years old, as well as explicit descriptions of sex with each other and others, including children,” the US attorney’s office said in a statement.

Laughton is believed to be the first transgender person to be elected to a state legislature when she was elected to the New Hampshire house in 2012, The Associated Press reported. She resigned before taking her seat, however, after reports surfaced about an earlier conviction for identity fraud and falsifying evidence. She ran again in 2020 and won, and was re-elected in 2022. She resigned last December when she was charged with stalking Groves.

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[Featured image: Stacie Marie Laughton/Nashua Police via AP]