Former Morro Bay High School teacher and swim coach Tyler Andree had pled no contest to charges of having sex with a minor and was sentenced this week in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court.
Andree resigned his position at Morro Bay High in central California in January as a teacher and varsity girls swim coach and was arrested on charges that he had sex with one 17-year old student and sent explicit text messages to another minor.
While the no contest plea means that Andree did not admit guilt in the case, he was sentenced to 120 days in county jail and supervised felony probation and must register as a sex offender for 20 years. If he had been convicted of all the charges he was facing, he faced almost 5 years in state prison.
As part of his arrangement, he is forbidden from contacting either of the minors that he was allegedly involved with. He will report to jail September 22. He also becomes a convicted felon under the terms of the deal.
District Attorney Dan Dow defended the plea deal in a news release by addressing the challenges in prosecution.
The release reads in part: “The investigation revealed that Tyler Andree engaged in an improper relationship that included sexual intercourse on at least one occasion sometime in 2020 with one of his female students who was in the last semester of her senior year in high school. The student turned 18 during the semester. Due to the significant length of time that had passed before the crime was reported and investigated, there was a lack of forensic cyber evidence (obtained from the defendant and electronic communications providers) that could have helped to more accurately pinpoint the time of the sexual activity between the teacher and his student.”
Under California state law, it is not illegal for a teacher to have sex with a student who is over the age of 18.
“There is no safe haven in San Luis Obispo County for people in positions of trust who take advantage of those who they are responsible to protect,” said District Attorney Dan Dow. “This conviction will rightly ensure that Tyler Andree is never again allowed to coach, teach, or be in a position of care for children.”
