San Diego pediatric nurse, foster parent sentenced to 80 years for molesting babies

A pediatric nurse and foster parent who filmed himself molesting two babies in his care in San Diego was sentenced to 80 years in federal prison Monday, all but guaranteeing that he spends the rest of his life behind bars, federal officials said.

U.S. District Judge John Houston called Michael William Lutts “the worst of the worst” at his sentencing and said the 52-year-old had victimized “the most fragile” people in society. Houston told Lutts he was “worse than a mass murderer shooting 20 people.”

Between July and August of last year, Lutts molested a 2-month old boy who was born prematurely and an 11-month old girl. Both had been put in his care. Lutts pleaded guilty in January to two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of distributing child pornography.

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“This is one of the most appalling, heart-wrenching cases I have seen in this district,” said Laura Duffy, U.S. Atty. for the Southern District of California in a statement. “All child exploitation cases are heinous. But it’s a whole new level of depravity when the victims are babies in the care of a trusted nurse.”

Authorities began investigating Lutts when they discovered that an email address registered to his home was sending child pornography to another suspect.

When authorities went to Lutts’ home with a search warrant, they found videos and photos of him molesting the 2-month old baby on his iPhone and his home computer.

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