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Ogden mom says she warned school of concerns about teacher’s contact with student

Posted at 10:55 PM, Feb 07, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-08 14:18:28-05

OGDEN, Utah -- A teacher at Ogden's Mound Fort Junior High School was arrested Monday for allegedly having sexual contact with students.

Ex-teacher Drew Tutt., 28, is accused of enticing students to send him nude photos and allegedly having sexual contact with at least two minors, police said.

According to Police, Tutt met the victims while he was teaching at Mound Fort Junior High School in Ogden.

A mother of one of the victims says she warned the Ogden School District about one of their teachers last year, but they didn't take her seriously when she filed a complaint.

When the mother heard Tutt was in jail she was relieved but concerned when the school district said they first found out about any inappropriate communications from this teacher in October.

“My immediate thought was, wait a minute, I had already seven months prior in March of 2016 reported my concern, my extreme concern, about him,” the mother, who did not want to be identified, said.

The mother says she went to the school and filed a complaint against her child's teacher.

“When a situation arose and I brought it to their attention. I did feel brushed aside,” the mother said.

She says nothing came from it.

According to the school district, all allegations were being taken seriously and were under investigation.

“I don't feel like they delved or did an investigation as thoroughly as should have been done considering what I had said to them,” the mother said.

In October of last year, an officer said they found Tutt in a car with a young girl at a park at two in the morning.

According to Police, Tutt wasn't doing anything criminal, but police were concerned.

“He had a gut feeling something wasn't right,” said Lt Nate Hutchinson, Weber County Sheriff's Office.

Sparking an investigation, nearly five months later, officers arrested Tutt.

“Through our investigation, we learned he was having sexual contact with minor females under the age of 16,” Lt. Hutchinson said.

The same month the investigation started, Tutt resigned from the school district.

“It's gut-wrenching to learn some of my students may have been harmed by this individual,” said Bryan Becherini, Principal, Mound Fort Junior High School.

Now Tutt is facing several charges.

“I was extremely frustrated to think that that seven months could have been stopped that. Seven more months of abuse could have been avoided,” the mother said.

Police believe there are more victims. If you know anything, please contact the police.

Tutt is expected to go before a judge Wednesday morning.