Stacie Laughton, a former New Hampshire state representative and the first openly transgender lawmaker in the U.S., has been charged federally with child sexual exploitation.

Laughton, 39, hailing from Nashua, is also facing aiding and abetting charges.

“Defendant Stacie Marie Laughton was charged by complaint with Sexual Exploitation of Children (and Aiding and Abetting),” a docket reads. “The defendant will have an initial appearance at the John Joseph Moakley federal courthouse in Boston where she will be formally charged with these crimes. An initial appearance has not yet been scheduled by the Court.”

The investigation centers around a daycare facility in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts.

A former worker at the daycare, Lindsay Groves, who was once in a relationship with Laughton, is also implicated in this unsettling case.

The allegations suggest a profound breach of trust and a significant violation of federal laws.

Groves, during her tenure at the Creative Minds Early Learning Center in Tyngsboro, purportedly took illicit photographs of children in a private bathroom during their bathroom breaks.

According to the charges, she subsequently sent these images to Laughton.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office states that the images purportedly contained children who seemed to be aged between 3 to 5.

Groves currently remains under state custody after being charged with distribution of child pornography and sexual exploitation of children.

Laughton was previously taken into custody in Nashua in June, charged by the New Hampshire state with four counts of circulating child sexual abuse images.

Following the arrest, it has been announced that Laughton will be summoned to federal court to face these new charges, with a date yet to be confirmed.

Laughton’s political journey has been fraught with legal complications.

In 2012, Laughton was elected as a Democrat to the New Hampshire House, marking the first time an openly transgender individual had been elected to such a position in the U.S.

However, the biological male’s tenure was cut short due to revelations of past felony convictions in Belknap County.

These convictions, dating back to 2008, pertained to credit card fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud, leading to Laughton’s resignation before officially assuming the position.