At least one of the two New Hampshire women facing serious charges in a child sex image investigation that involves a Massachusetts day care is due in court on Friday.
One of the women was an employee of Creative Minds day care in Tyngsboro, and has been accused of taking naked photos of children and sending them to someone she previously had an intimate relationship with, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office District in Massachusetts.
Two arrests related to this case were announced by authorities on Thursday — Lindsay Groves, 38, of Hudson, New Hampshire, and Stacie Laughton, 39, of Derry, New Hampshire. Groves is the former employee of the day care, and while Nashua police stopped short of specifying Laughton's exact alleged role in the case, they did confirm that she was facing charges in connection to it.
Laughton is a former state representative who had previously been charged in a stalking case, police in Nashua also confirmed.
Laughton was due to be arraigned at Hillsborough Superior Court on Friday, but she waived her court appearance. Federal prosecutors said that Groves will appear in federal court in Boston, which they said could happen as soon as Friday. Both suspects are in police custody.
Laughton's mother told NBC10 Boston her daughter did nothing wrong.
"She is innocent, Stacie," her mother said from behind a door.
According to Laughton's mother, Groves and her daughter used to be in a relationship. She said Laughton never asked Groves to send nude images of children.
"No, she did not, no," the mother said. "They were sent to her."
Prosecutors said that from May 2022 until this month, Groves took naked images of children during bathroom breaks before their naptime. A preliminary forensic review of Groves' cellphone allegedly showed over 2,500 text messages between Groves and the person on the receiving end of the photos, with messages allegedly including discussion about the photos, and the explicit photos themselves, prosecutors said.
There were at least four sexually explicit images of children who appear to be between the ages of 3 and 5, authorities said.
Groves is being charged with one count of sexual exploitation of children and one count of distribution of child pornography, federal prosecutors said. Laughton, meanwhile, is facing multiple counts of distribution of child sexual abuse images.
"There were multiple photos of him in the bathroom where his pants were on his ankles. I broke down into tears," the mother of a victim in the case said, explaining that investigators showed up at her door and had her identify her son in some of the photos. "How long was this going on for? Where did these photos go? I want to know who is going to be held accountable."
Attorneys for Creative Minds Early Education issued a statement Thursday evening.
"Creative Minds Early Education is cooperating fully with law enforcement to ensure a complete and extensive investigation into the allegations regarding a single former staff member," the statement said. "We want to ensure our families that their children's safety and provacy [sic] is one of the utmost importance. We will make every effort to support all of our families during this difficult time. We are requesting that members of the media please respect our privacy as well as the provacy [sic] of our families."
Anyone with questions about this case may call authorities at 617-748-3274. Nashua police have urged anyone with more information about the case to contact (603)-589-1665.
