The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.
Former Independent Fundamentalist Baptist (IFB) youth pastor Stephen Hutto stands accused of sexually assaulting a minor girl while he worked for Fountain Independent Baptist Church in Fountain, Colorado. An Internet search revealed Wayland Hutto, a relative of Stephen’s, pastors the church. At the time of his arrest, Hutto was working as a pastor at Highlands Baptist Church in Boone, Colorado.
The Fountain Police Department says they have arrested a former youth pastor for an alleged sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust.
Stephen Hutto, 45 was arrested on March 2, according to police. He was previously employed with the Fountain Independent Baptist Church from 2007- 2010. He is facing charges related to an alleged sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl.
The timeline of the alleged abuse is a little unclear. Based on an arrest affidavit obtained by News5, the incident was reported years prior, with Fountain PD Detective Tori Smith locating the original report made in 2023. That original report to law enforcement says that the reporting party found out about the incident three years prior to 2023 and that the actual incident occurred 15 years ago, meaning the alleged abuse took place around 2008.
Based on investigations, the arrest affidavit states that the original call to report the abuse in 2023 was, “never forwarded to the appropriate unit for investigation.”
In an initial interview with Detective Smith, Hutto was asked why the victim “would report a sexual relationship between the two of them,” to which he replied, ” (the victim not named in the affidavit) was jealous of his family because he had been blessed.”
At the time of his arrest, Hutto was working as a pastor at Highlands Baptist Church in Boone, Colorado. The Fountain Police Department is seeking any additional witnesses or victims who may have information about this case.
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Hutto was arrested March 2 and has since bonded out of the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center (CJC). He is facing a felony charge of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust. He will be in court again on March 13, 2025. Hutto is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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