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Drew Tutt was a Mormon church member, school teacher and soccer coach at Mound Fort Junior High School in Ogden. He was accused of grooming girls on his soccer teams and eventually meeting up with them at night and sexually assaulting them.
Tutt served an LDS mission and was married in an LDS temple, according to a person who told FLOODLIT about Tutt’s case.
In 2017, Tutt was convicted of two counts of third degree felony sexual abuse of a minor student.
As part of a plea deal, four other related counts were dismissed without prejudice.
In 2018, Tutt was sentenced to zero to five years in prison.
Also in 2018, two civil lawsuits named Tutt as a defendant along with the Ogden City School District, alleging that the district failed to heed parental complaints prior to Tutt’s sexual assaults of his victims. One plaintiff said Tutt, her former teacher, had her work as his teacher aide and help him in his duties as the school’s soccer coach.
One civil suit was dismissed with prejudice in January 2020 (case 180906032).
The other suit was dismissed in April 2020 (case 180903649).
Facts
- Criminal: Convicted, Prison,
- Civil: Dismissed, Dismissed with prejudice,
- Positions: Missionary,
- During crime: Unknown position,
- Victims: 2 victims, Multiple victims,
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Born: 1988
- Mission: Unknown country
- Locations: Utah, Weber County (Utah),
Sources
- Former Utah teacher sentenced to prison for sexually abusing 2 students,
- Lawsuit targets Utah school district for failing to stop a teacher who sexually abused students,
- Drew Daniel TUTT,
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1. Former Utah teacher sentenced to prison for sexually abusing 2 students
OGDEN — A former middle school teacher from Weber County is going to prison for sexually abusing two young girls.
Drew Daniel Tutt, 29, was sentenced Feb. 28 to serve concurrent sentences of up to five years in prison for two counts of sexual abuse of a minor student, a third-degree felony.
Tutt, of Plain City in Weber County, pleaded guilty to the charges as part of a plea deal in December. In exchange, additional charges were dismissed, including two counts of enticing a minor by internet or text, a third-degree felony, and two counts of unlawful detention of a minor, a class B misdemeanor.
Tutt first came on law enforcement radar in October 2016 when a Weber County sheriff's deputy found him and a 14-year-old girl in a car at a Weber County park late at night, according to charging documents.
At the time, the deputy did not observe any criminal activity, and no arrest was made. The girl was later interviewed by police, reporting that she had met Tutt at school and had left her home four times without her parents' knowledge to meet him, the charges indicate.
"They would drive around and hunt for Pokemon and eventually end up parked somewhere," charges state.
A second victim, a 15-year-old girl, told police that a year earlier she had gotten to know Tutt through school and the soccer team he coached. The girl estimated she had met with Tutt 30 times outside of school to spend time with him. The two communicated daily on social media, she said.
Both girls said Tutt had offered them opportunities to help in his classroom.
"Drew admitted that what he was doing was wrong but it made him feel good and happy."
–Charging documentsIn an interview with police, Tutt said he would send the two girls pictures of himself with his shirt off, then tell them it was their turn to do the same. He reported he had kissed the girls on various areas of their bodies, including sometimes moving or removing some of their clothing.
"Drew admitted that what he was doing was wrong but it made him feel good and happy," charges state.
Tutt was a teacher at Mound Fort Junior High School. Jer Bates, Ogden School District spokesman, said the district was notified of the ongoing investigation on Oct. 10, 2016, and Tutt was immediately placed on administrative leave. He resigned that same day.
Tutt was still on "provisional status" at the time of his resignation, meaning he had been with the district for less than three years. He has no prior criminal history outside of traffic tickets, according to court records.
Those who have experienced sexual abuse or assault can be connected to trained advocates through Utah's statewide 24-hour Rape and Sexual Assault Crisis Line at 888-421-1100.
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2. Lawsuit targets Utah school district for failing to stop a teacher who sexually abused students
Two former students are suing Ogden School District, alleging it failed to protect them from a junior high teacher who had inappropriate conversations with and sexually abused several students.
Both plaintiffs were teenage girls when Drew Tutt taught at Mound Fort Junior High School. Their lawsuit alleges that between 2015 and 2016, Tutt “groomed” them and other young students by adding them on social media, chatting with them late at night and putting some in positions as “teacher assistants.”
Tutt, now 31, resigned from his teaching position in October 2016 after a police officer found him with a 14-year-old girl, who was a student, in a car at a park after hours. Police later found that Tutt also sexually abused a 15-year-old student.
Tutt eventually pleaded guilty to two charges of third-degree felony sexual abuse of a minor student in 2018, and is currently serving up to five years in prison.
One of the victims that he admitted to sexually abusing is a plaintiff in the lawsuit, filed Monday in 2nd District Court. Now an adult woman, “Jane Doe 1” alleges in the lawsuit that her former teacher had her work as both his teacher aide and assist him in his duties as the school’s soccer coach.
Her mother had called the Ogden School District in September 2016, the lawsuit states, to file a formal complaint that Tutt had crossed boundaries with her daughter after she found out he had been calling and texting the girl late at night.
"[Her] mother was told that a formal complain would be written," the lawsuit states. "When plaintiff's mother called to follow-up about what was done, the school would not give her any further information."
Jane Doe 1's lawyers, Lauren Hunt and Michael Young, allege in the lawsuit that Tutt began picking up the girl at her house late at night to play "Pokemon Go," encouraged her to sneak out of the house and "made out" with her in his car.
The second plaintiff, identified in court papers as "Jane Doe 2," alleges that Tutt contacted her through various social media platforms frequently and late at night to discuss his relationship with his wife and wanting to get divorced and asking her to get milkshakes with him. He would also send her photos of him cutting himself, the lawsuit alleges.
Both plaintiffs allege that Ogden School District failed to properly investigate Tutt and was aware that he was having inappropriate contact with young students. That led to Tutt's ability to "thoroughly groom" both girls, and the eventual sexual assault of Jane Doe 1.
The lawsuit argues that despite receiving complaints about his behavior. “the district failed to act to ensure this harmful contact stopped.”
Lawyers for the two women also allege that the district was “deliberately indifferent” when school officials knew that Tutt was being represented in his criminal case by a fellow teacher at the school, where Jane Doe 1 continued to attend. This amount to a hostile environment, they allege.
The plaintiffs are asking for at least $300,000 in damages, including damages for causing them emotional distress.
School district officials did not comment on the lawsuit Tuesday, and referred a reporter to the Utah Attorney General’s Office, which defends Utah agencies in court. Their spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment.
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3. Drew Daniel TUTT
Documents
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