(FOUNTAIN, Colo.) — An affidavit obtained by FOX21 News reported that former Fountain youth pastor, 45-year-old Stephen Hutto, allegedly sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl for about a year after sending her inappropriate text messages.
According to the affidavit, in November of 2023, a person related to the victim reported to the Colorado Department of Human Services that the girl had disclosed that she had been sexually abused by Hutto, who was then around 30 years old.
The affidavit stated that when a Fountain Police Department (FPD) Detective interviewed the girl, she stated that when she was about 15 years old, Hutto began texting back and forth with her nonstop, during which time he sent her inappropriate photos of himself.
According to the affidavit, one night when driving her from her house in Fountain to his home in another location to help with something, Hutto allegedly stopped by the side of the road and initiated intercourse with her. The alleged assaults continued multiple times over the course of a year, according to arrest documents.
FPD interviewed two witnesses who confirmed that the victim had reported the incident to them in the past few years, according to the affidavit. One witness stated they remembered that during that time, Hutto came to pick up the victim from the house on many occasions to take her to his house to help out. The other witness recalled that Hutto was more affectionate with the victim than others.
The victim stated that she suspected there were other victims, but didn’t know for sure.
The affidavit alleged that a second person had been interviewed by FPD who stated that when she was 18 years old, Hutto allegedly initiated sexual intercourse with her as well. The second victim gave details about the locations and manner of the encounters that matched those of the first victim.
The affidavit reported that when the FPD Detective interviewed Hutto, he denied intimate contact with the victim, stating that she made up the encounters because she was jealous of his family “because he had been blessed.” When asked about the second girl, Hutto said that she had attached herself to his family because she was jealous.
According to the arrest papers, Hutto denied ever being alone with the victim in his vehicle. When pressed on statements that allegedly contradicted what he had said in a previous interview with the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office, the affidavit said that Hutto changed his statement to say that if it had happened, it had only happened once.
The affidavit stated that the FPD Detective informed Hutto that a forensic download would be conducted on the victim’s phone that allegedly had evidence of explicit text messages, and asked him if they would find anything inappropriate. According to the affidavit, Hutto replied that he didn’t know and that he had texted a lot of teenagers in those days. He said he and the girl were friends and texted, but he never sent pictures.
The affidavit said that when the Detective asked again whether they would find anything, he said that if there were, he would have remembered it.
Hutto is facing charges of Sexual Assault on a Child by One in a Position of Trust.
