Ex-Morro Bay High School teacher avoids prison after no contest plea for sex with a minor
A former Morro Bay High School teacher and swim coach accused of having sex with one student and sending sexually explicit messages to another will avoid prison time after pleading no contest to two felonies.
Instead, Tyler Dale Andree will spend a couple of months in San Luis Obispo County Jail custody.
Andree, 25, was arrested Feb. 8 following a three-week investigation by the Morro Bay Police Department. He had previously pleaded not guilty to a felony count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor three or more years younger, a felony count of contacting a minor for a sexual offense, and a misdemeanor charge of molesting or annoying a minor.
Those three charges were related to one victim, then 17 years old. The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office alleged in its criminal complaint the conduct began around Dec. 31, 2019, and lasted until about Oct. 15, 2020.
Andree had also pleaded not guilty to a felony count of contacting a minor for a sexual offense and a misdemeanor charge of molesting or annoying a minor. Those charges were related to the second victim, then 16, for conduct alleged between Dec. 31, 2019, and April 23, 2020.
At a routine court hearing June 9, Andree entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors, pleading no contest to the unlawful intercourse charge and to one count of contacting a minor for a sexual offense.
The remaining charges were dismissed, according to court records.
Court records show that Andree was sentenced Wednesday to two years of supervised probation and 120 days in the County Jail, of which he will likely serve half due to various automatic custody credits.
Had he been convicted of all original charges, Andree faced a maximum sentence of four years and eight months in state prison, the District Attorney’s Office previously said.
According to court records, Andree will be required to register as a sex offender for 20 years, and protective orders bar him from communicating with the two girls.
He’s remained out of jail custody since February after posting $30,000 bail., court records show, but is scheduled to report to the jail Sept. 22.
Andree’s defense attorney did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
District Attorney Dan Dow issued a news release on the case Thursday, saying that 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 that could have helped to more accurately pinpoint the time of the sexual activity between the teacher and his student.”
Dow also noted that it is not a crime under California law for a teacher to have sex with a student who is over the age of 18.
He said that the plea was appropriate for those reasons, as well as to avoid having to call the two survivors to the stand to testify.
“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,” Dow wrote. “This conviction will rightly ensure that Tyler Andree is never again allowed to coach, teach, or be in a position of care for children.”
The former teacher and varsity girls swimming coach resigned suddenly in January amid a continuing police investigation into allegations of misconduct.
On Jan. 11, San Luis Coastal Unified School District officials were informed of allegations of potential misconduct that indicated “a teacher/coach had an inappropriate relationship with an unnamed student during his employment,” the district wrote in a news release Feb. 22.
Shortly after, the district began an internal investigation and was later notified by the Morro Bay Police Department that it had received similar information and was starting an investigation as well, according to the district.
The DA’s Office says the police department were also alerted Jan. 11 when a woman from Washington State called to report that an inappropriate sexual relationship between a Morro Bay High School student and a swim coach had occurred the previous academic year. The reporting party was not willing to identify the teacher or victim by name, the news release says.
Andree was identified as a suspect and resigned from the school on Jan. 18, according to the district. He had been an employee with Morro Bay High School since Aug. 13, 2019, according to the district.
One of the victims in the case told The Tribune that Andree tried to initiate a romantic relationship with her and exchanged sexually explicit messages.
According to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing online database, Andree’s credential was suspended for misconduct in February.
This article has been updated to include comments from the District Attorney’s Office.
This story was originally published July 22, 2021 at 10:05 AM.
