SANTA ANA — Two men who befriended and then sexually assaulted several Tustin brothers were sentenced to prison Friday by a veteran judge who described their crimes as among the worst he has ever seen. Conley sentenced Dustin James Elwood, who was convicted of sexually assaulting three boys, to 45 years to life in state prison.
The judge sentenced Jimmy Ernest Hutton, who was convicted of sexually assaulting two of the boys, to 30 years to life. A jury in April found Elwood, 24, and Hutton, 27, guilty of multiple felony counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor and possession of child pornography.
Both men will be required to register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives. The two men were also accused of sharing photographs of the boys taken during sex acts. The young victims and their family members urged Conley to impose the maximum sentence, which would have been more than years to life for Elwood and more than 60 years to life for Hutton.
They told the judge how Elwood in particular had gained the trust and friendship of their family before victimizing the young boys and driving a wedge between the brothers. And we trusted Elwood like a son… little did we know there was manipulation behind it. In a letter to the judge read in court by Senior Deputy District Attorney Heather Brown, one of the boys described how the pain and anxiety that stemmed from the sexual abuse turned him into a social outcast at school.
The prosecutor noted that Hutton also had a history of sexual assault, dating back to when he was a young teenager. It was repeated, daily sexual attacks on these children. Attorneys for Elwood and Hutton noted that it will be decades before their clients are eligible for parole, making even longer sentences unnecessary. Conley initially seemed torn about whether to impose the maximum sentences, taking a ten minute break to gather his thoughts between the attorney arguments and handing down the sentences.
