Former youth pastor convicted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl gets 90 days in jail, probation

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Christopher Hutchinson, the 37-year-old former youth pastor of two Arapahoe County churches, was sentences to three months in jail and 20Ā years of sex offender intensive supervision probation for sexually touching a girl who came to him for help.

Hutchinson was convicted of sexual assault on aĀ child by a person in a position of trust July 29. The prosecution asked that he be sentenced to four years in prison, according to a release from the Office of the District Attorney, and DA George H. Brauchler was unhappy withĀ District Court Judge Natalie Chase decision Friday.

ā€œThe defendant early on was offered a plea deal. He could have accepted responsibility for hisĀ actions and admitted he needed help. He could have spared a 13-year-old girl who he victimizedĀ the trauma of being on the witness stand,ā€ Brauchler said. ā€œInstead, his defense deliberatelyĀ attacked her credibility, calling her a liar and basically throwing her under the bus. He deniedĀ that his conduct was sexual in nature or for sexual gratification until after the jury found himĀ guilty. The office does not consider him to be a good candidate for probation.ā€

According to the release, the girlĀ turned to Hutchinson for advice and support in a difficult time and she met him in local parks at his urging. She told her parents he touched her sexually during their meetings, and they reported him to the police.

HutchinsonĀ was a youth pastor at Southeast Christian Church in Parker when he was arrested, but he met the girlĀ while he was a youth pastor atĀ South Fellowship Church in Littleton.

The Denver Post’s Noelle Phillips was presentĀ for the sentencing. The girl told the court she’d contemplated suicide.

ā€œHe never punched me and he never hit me,ā€Ā sheĀ said. ā€œBut he broke me. As a person I trusted, he shattered what safety was.ā€

Colorado’s indeterminate sentencing for felony sex crimes again played a roll in the sentencing. According to the Post, Chase expressed concern that Hutchinson’s prison time would really be up to a parole board if she recommended a four-year sentence.

 

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