A New Hampshire woman who worked at a day care center in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, is facing federal charges of child exploitation and distribution of child pornography, and a former Granite State lawmaker has also been arrested.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, 38-year-old Lindsay Groves of Hudson, New Hampshire, would use breaks before naptime to take photos of the children in a private bathroom while working at the Creative Minds Early Learning Center in Tyngsboro.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts said Groves used her position to take nude photos of children between the ages of 3 and 5.
Groves would then text the photos to someone "with whom she was previously in an intimate relationship," federal prosecutors said.
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According to court paperwork, there are more than 2,500 text messages between Groves and the individual.
Later Thursday, police in Nashua, New Hampshire, said Stacie Laughton, a 39-year-old Derry woman, had been been arrested on four counts of distributing child sexual abuse images.
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The Nashua Police Department confirmed the arrest was made in connection with the Tyngsboro case, but did not say whether she was the person Groves is accused of sending the photos. Police also confirmed Laughton is a former state representative who had previously been charged in a stalking case.
NBC10 Boston spoke with a mother who said her son is one of the victims at Creative Minds. She said investigators showed up at her doorstep Wednesday and had her identify her 3-year-old son in some of the photos.
"There were multiple photos of him in the bathroom where his pants were on his ankles. I broke down into tears," she said.
The mother said her son started behaving differently a few months ago, but she had no idea what was wrong. She said he will never be returning to Creative Minds, but she wants more answers.
"How long was this going on for? Where did these photos go? I want to know who is going to be held accountable," she said.
In an email to parents Wednesday night, the director said the day care would be closed Thursday due to unforeseen circumstances.
"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 company said in a statement to NBC10 Boston. "We want to ensure our families that their children's safety and privacy is 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 privacy of our families."
Groves was supposed to face a judge in Nashua Thursday, but her attorney waived her appearance. Charges against her include sexual exploitation of children and distribution of child pornography. She remains held without bail and faces up to 30 years in prison on the exploitation charge and up to 20 for the child pornography charge if convicted.
Police in Nashua say they responded Tuesday to an early learning facility, which they did not name, in that community. They arrested Laughton Thursday.
The Boston Globe reported last November that Laughton had been charged with stalking over a Facebook post. The newspaper added that she was convicted earlier in 2022 of texting 911 for non-emergencies a dozen times in 2021.
In 2015, as NECN reported, she was charged with calling in a bomb threat to the Southern New Hampshire Medical Center.
Laughton, who was elected as a state representative in 2022, resigned from office after her stalking arrest, according to the Nashua Telegraph.
Police say Laughton is due to be arraigned Friday in Hillsborough Superior Court-South. It was not immediately clear if she had an attorney.
The Nashua Police Department asks anyone with more information to call 603-589-1665.
The case against Groves is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts is asking members of the public who have questions or concerns regarding Groves to call 617-748-3274.
Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673, and Massachusetts provides this list of statewide and resources for sexual assault survivors.
