A Denton coach has been found guilty of an improper relationship with a student.
A jury found Pierre Andrews, a former coach at Ryan High School in Denton, guilty June 5 on two counts of an “improper relationship” with a student, said Denton County First Assistant District Attorney Jamie Beck to The Dallas Express. The jury found Andrews not guilty on two charges of sexual assault of a child.
“Pierre Andrews was convicted by a jury yesterday so he was taken into custody for the punishment phase of the trial,” Beck said. “The jury will also be the ones deciding [the] sentence.”
Andrews was coaching at Ryan High School at the time, and his victim was age 16 when the relationship started, according to The Denton Record-Chronicle. Beck said the allegations all took place in Denton ISD.
The sexual assault charges stemmed from December 2018, and the improper relationship charges stemmed from October 2019, according to court records.
Denton Police Department detectives began investigating a “third-party report of an improper relationship between an educator and student” in December 2021, said Denton Police representative Amy Cunningham in an email to The Dallas Express.
“Over the course of the investigation, detectives determined that Andrews committed this offense in 2018 and 2019 while the victim was enrolled in a school at which he worked,” Cunningham said. “Detectives secured an arrest warrant.”
According to Cunningham, Andrews turned himself in to police on Jan. 21, 2022. Beck said he was out on bond ahead of his recent trial.
The Dallas Express asked Denton ISD for comment, but Assistant Director of Communications Reece Waddell said the district is closed for the summer schedule and could not “accommodate” the deadline.