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SANDY — A Draper man who claims he is a sex addict is facing criminal charges accusing him of hiring teen girls to help with his business and then inventing a "handshake" as a way to inappropriately touch them.
Devin Todd Tuttle, 25, was charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with four counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.
In July, a 15-year-old girl went to work for Tuttle's pesticide company. According to charging documents, she said Tuttle engaged in a "tradition" of giving a high-five and then slapping her on the butt after spraying a home. The girl "stated this 'tradition' occurred numerous times."
In late July, Tuttle started questioning the girl about her sexual experiences, and while driving to work inappropriately touched her, the charges state.
A second girl, 17, said she started "doing the door-to-door sales portion of his lawn aeration and pesticide business" in April. She also told investigators that on one occasion, Tuttle did a "handshake" with her to celebrate her sales, "which included Tuttle giving (her) a high-five and then slapping her buttocks," according to the charges. The teen told Tuttle she did not like the "handshake" and didn't want to do it anymore.
When questioned by police, "Tuttle stated he is a sex addict, and while his wife was out of town, he tried to figure out a way to touch (the 15-year-old's) buttocks without being 'super inappropriate,'" according to the charging documents. Police say he told them he "came up with a handshake" as a way to inappropriately touch his victims.
Prosecutors describe Tuttle as "preying" on his victims. "Once (he) gained the trust of his two teenage victims, he employed both victims in order to be alone with them. The defendant then touched the victims in a sexual manner," the charges allege.
