A judge’s concerns about Stephen Hutto’s conduct and lack of remorse were central to the 18-year prison sentence he received Tuesday for sexually assaulting children in the youth program at Fountain Independent Baptist Church. The El Paso County district court judge also imposed a six-year term on a second charge, to run concurrently. Community members attended the hearing and asked the court to spare Hutto prison.
Hutto had faced three counts involving three children; a jury convicted him on two counts, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette. All three children were enrolled in the church’s youth program at the time of the assaults. Hutto has maintained his innocence and denounced the prosecution’s accusations at the hearing, the Gazette reported.
The victims described effects that persisted long after the assaults, including trauma and difficulty trusting people close to them. One told the court she had been an 11-year-old Christian girl who trusted a teacher and said the harm reached beyond the victims to the church community. Another said she did not disclose the assaults until 15 years later, when she spoke to a therapist who was a mandatory reporter, according to the Gazette’s account of the hearing.
Judge Cites Pattern of Behavior and Lack of Remorse
Judge John Kane said Hutto had abused the authority of his role as a spiritual leader and that the evidence showed a pattern of behavior. Kane cited the pattern and Hutto’s lack of remorse in rejecting probation, the Gazette reported.
Kane ordered the 18-year sentence along with a six-year sentence on the second charge that will run in tandem with the first. Hutto could face an undetermined amount of additional prison time if he does not comply with the Department of Corrections’ treatment plan, the paper reports.
How Colorado Evaluates Sex-Offense Treatment
Colorado’s general process includes a sex-offense-specific evaluation for people convicted of sex offenses, addressing treatment, risk and behavioral monitoring, according to the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice. That guidance does not establish the individual treatment conditions that apply to Hutto.
Supporters Fill Courtroom, Judge Says It Tempered Sentence
Hutto had pastored the Boone church for more than 12 years. Church members traveled to the hearing, where supporters asked Kane to grant probation. The judge said he would have imposed a harsher sentence without their statements on Hutto’s behalf, according to the Gazette.
Douglass Tecklenburg called Hutto a responsible citizen, and Tecklenburg and another supporter sought leniency. Avery Stacy, by contrast, said Hutto’s supporters had helped create an environment in which victims were discouraged from speaking and said some supporters snickered during victim testimony. Kane disputed that account, saying he had not seen supporters snicker, the Gazette reported.
An unnamed Boone community member told the Gazette that people who challenge the town’s prevailing views can be pushed out. The person said the evidence against Hutto was difficult to dispute and expressed surprise that he still had supporters.
Wife Pleaded for Probation Over Health Fears
Hutto’s wife, Sara, asked Kane to allow her husband to serve his sentence in the community, citing serious and unpredictable health concerns. She said specialists might finally be able to treat him after 15 years of trying to find answers.
“I genuinely fear he will die in prison,” she said, according to the Gazette. The outlet previously reported that the sentencing hearing had been postponed after Hutto’s defense attorney cited serious heart problems and a possible stroke that required further testing.
