Former Blackhawk School District substitute teacher and assistant coach sentenced to prison on child porn charges

BEAVER, Pa. (KDKA) -- A former Blackhawk School District substitute teacher and assistant coach was sentenced to prison on child pornography charges. 

A judge sentenced Joshua Andrews on Wednesday to an aggregate sentence of five to 10 years in state prison for five counts of dissemination of child pornography, the Beaver County District Attorney's Office announced. As part of a negotiated plea agreement, he'll also have to register as a sex offender for 25 years.

The district attorney's office said the investigation began in June of 2022 after state police got a tip that Andrews had been uploading child pornography to the internet. The uploads were traced to his home in Beaver County and a local school, the district attorney's office said. 

When interviewed by state police, they said he admitted to viewing child pornography for at least eight years and said he used at least eight different email addresses to distribute it. He said he was a Highland Middle School substitute teacher and an assistant coach for the middle school's cross country team. He also worked as a counselor for children through his local church, the district attorney's office said.

State police said they found thousands of images and videos of child pornography on his devices. There were also images of children he knew through school and church that he had taken, altered to sexualize them and uploaded to the internet for other people to view, the district attorney's office said. 

One of the victims provided a statement at sentencing about how the experience will impact her for the rest of her life. 

Andrews is not eligible for early release. He'll have to undergo sexual offender treatment and education in prison and isn't allowed to have any contact with children.