FOUNTAIN (CO)
Pueblo Chieftain [Pueblo, CO]
August 6, 2026
By Zach Hillstrom
Editor’s note: This story contains descriptions of sexual assault that may be disturbing to some readers. Sexual assault resources for victims and their loved ones are available at the bottom of this story.
A Pueblo County pastor arrested in March 2025 on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl when he was a youth pastor in Fountain was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust.
Stephen Hutto, 46, is set to be sentenced for the two felony charges in October after an El Paso County jury found him guilty on July 10.
Hutto was previously a youth pastor at Fountain Independent Baptist Church and, at the time of his arrest, was the pastor of Highlands Baptist Church in Boone in Pueblo County, according to a news release from the Fountain Police Department.
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Gayle Perez, a spokesperson for the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office, told the Chieftain following Hutto’s arrest that the PCSO did not have any open investigations into Hutto.
According to an arrest affidavit authored by Fountain PD, the charges against Hutto stemmed from around 2008 or 2009, when Hutto was approximately 30.
The victim told police she was 15 when she and Hutto started “texting back and forth nonstop.” She said Hutto sent her explicit photos of himself via text message and a sexual relationship began later after Hutto kissed her.
She detailed several incidents of sexual encounters with Hutto, including Hutto taking her virginity in his work truck after he’d pulled over on a dirt road, according to the affidavit.
The victim told police she maintained a sexual relationship with Hutto for approximately one year, during which they had sex more than 20 times.
The investigating detective stated Hutto was interviewed on Feb. 14. Hutto had been interviewed by the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office prior to the PCSO referring the case to Fountain PD, and the Fountain detective obtained video of the interview prior to speaking with Hutto.