After an hour-long court hearing that featured emotional testimony,
fireworks between a judge and prosecutors over sentencing, and a
courtroom packed with church members split over the case, Christopher
Hutchinson, 37, was sentenced to 20 years of probation as a sex
offender. He also received a 90-day jail sentence and was ordered to
register as a sex offender by Arapahoe County District Court Judge
Natalie Chase.
A jury found Hutchinson guilty in July of one count of sexual assault
on a child by a person of in a position of trust and one count of
sexual assault on a child. Hutchinson had met his victim while serving
as youth pastor at South Fellowship Church in Littleton and was serving
as youth pastor at Southeast Christian Church in Parker when he was
arrested for the crime.
The girl, whose identity is being withheld by The Denver Post because
she was the victim of a sex crime, had sought Hutchinson’s counsel
after a spring break trip where a fight with her mother led to deepening
depression. Hutchinson had been the youth pastor at her Littleton
church and had worked with her older siblings. Even though he had moved
to another church, Hutchinson had maintained a relationship with the
girl and other teens from Littleton.
Former Arapahoe church youth pastor spared prison sentence for sexually assaulting 13-year-old girl – The Denver Post
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