On or about March 1, 2026, Officer Villa with the Fond du Lac Tribal Police Department responded to a residence on Ozhigaw Road in the City of Cloquet, Carlton County, Minnesota. At that residence, Officer Villa spoke to a resident about an incident involving sexual contact between her juvenile daughter and an adult male. Officer Villa spoke to the female juvenile victim ([DOB REDACTED], hereafter “FJV”) in the presence of her mother. FJV disclosed to Officer Villa that Steven Michael Tuttleton [DOB REDACTED], hereafter Defendant, was at her home on Ozhigaw Road approximately three to four months prior and fondled her left breast.
FJV disclosed that she was sitting in a chair at the dining room table when Defendant approached her from behind and used his right hand to “tap” her left breast several times for “a solid 12 seconds.” FJV gave a disapproving look to Defendant and crossed her arms high across her chest to prevent him from making further contact. Defendant then maneuvered his right hand placing it under her crossed arms and proceeded to grab FJV’s left breast and “squish” it. At that point Defendant stated “Oh, I forgot, you’re maturing.” Soon after, FJV went to her room and remained there for the rest of the evening.
Over the following weeks and months, FJV began showing behavioral changes including a growing resentment toward her mother, misbehaving, depression, and an unwillingness to be around Defendant. On March 5, 2026, FJV was forensically interviewed at First Witness Child [NAME REDACTED], Minnesota. During her interview FJV made disclosures matching her statement to Officer Villa. FJV was 11 years old when this incident occurred, Defendant was 42 years old, more than 36 months older than FJV.
