Ex-Kentucky high school basketball coach sentenced on child porn charges involving student

A federal judge sentenced a former Kentucky high school basketball coach to prison on child pornography charges Monday.

U.S. District Court Judge David L. Bunning sentenced ex-Rowan County coach and teacher Andrew Zaheri, 40, to 22 years for the production of child porn involving a student in 2022.

Under federal law, Zaheri has to serve 85% of that sentence. Once he is released, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 22 years, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

In a statement released by the victim's lawyers, the attorneys applauded the work of the FBI and the Assistant U.S. Attorney, saying: "Their prompt and decisive actions over the past six months have provided the beginning of solace to our client’s family and protection to the community of Rowan County.

"As the Court in this matter clearly understood, our client faced the type of grooming and abuse of trust from a school system which no child or their family should ever endure ..."

Zaheri's lawyer, Jarrod Beck, said he had no comment at this time.

In the summer of 2022, Zaheri began a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student at Rowan County High School, according to court documents. The relationship "continued into the school year and included Zaheri engaging in sexual acts with the victim at the school during school hours."

Zaheri admitted, in the documents, that during the sexual acts, he created sexually explicit images and videos involving the victim, including on two separate dates in September 2022.

"He further admits that he produced the video or images using his cellular phone, which was produced, in whole or part, outside the state of Kentucky ..." according to court documents.

Zaheri pleaded guilty to the charges before Bunning in February.

Other related charges

On Feb. 15, 2023, Rowan County Schools suspended Zaheri while investigating allegations of misconduct.

Zaheri was arrested by Kentucky State Police that same morning.

The next day, Rowan County Schools terminated Zaheri's employment. Now, Zaheri is facing two other court cases with related charges ― a civil and a state criminal case.

In May 2023, a Rowan County grand jury indicted Zaheri on 23 counts involving a sexual relationship with a student from June 2022 to Valentine's Day 2023. The charges included 10 counts of rape, 11 counts of sodomy and two counts of promoting a sexual performance by a minor who is younger than 18.

The counts for rape and sodomy carry a penalty of one to five years, while sexual performance by a minor carries a penalty of five to 10 years.

He was released on a surety bond for those 23 charges ordering no contact with the victim, no use of alcohol or drugs and no new arrests or violations of the law.

A hearing for that case is set for July 19 in Rowan County Circuit Court.

Zaheri is also facing a civil suit brought forward by a victim identified as Jane Doe that was filed in May 2023.

That lawsuit alleges the Rowan County Board of Education, the superintendent and the principal of Rowan County High School had received reports about Zaheri's behavior toward Jane Doe but failed to report concerns to Jane Doe's parents or further investigate the matter.

The suit claims negligence on the part of the school district, as well as violations of several state laws. The civil lawsuit seeks monetary and punitive damages.

The school district did not return an immediate request for comment regarding Zaheri's sentencing.

Stephanie Kuzydym is an enterprise and investigative reporter. She can be reached at skuzydym@courier-journal.com. Follow her for updates at @stephkuzy.