Former Emery High School teacher Andre Louis Pastrana pleaded guilty in a sexual assault case related to a relationship with a 16-year-old student. Pastrana, age 44, was booked into the Carbon County Jail in July for 13 felony charges, including seven counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, second-degree felonies; four counts of unlawful sexual conduct with someone 16 or 17, third-degree felonies; and one count each of tampering with a witness and endangerment of a child, both third-degree felonies.
On Wednesday, Pastrana appeared before Seventh District Court Judge George Harmond and entered a guilty plea. He pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony; unlawful sexual conduct with a 16 or 17-year-old, a third-degree felony; endangerment of a child, a third-degree felony; and tampering with a witness, a third-degree felony. The second-degree felony carries the weight of 1-15 years in the Utah State Prison while the third-degree felonies could be 0-5 years each.
According to court documents, the sexual exploitation of a minor count stems from an incident occurring between March 1 and June 29 where Pastrana knowingly possessed or viewed child pornography. The unlawful sexual conduct occurred within the same time frame, stating that Pastrana had sexual intercourse with a minor.
The endangerment of a minor charge states that the defendant knowingly or intentionally caused or permitted a child under the age of 18 to be exposed to, ingest, inhale or have contact with a controlled substance, chemical substance or paraphernalia. Finally, the tampering with a witness charge states that Pastrana attempted to cause another person to testify falsely or withhold testimony.
“On or between March 1, 2020, and June 29, 2020, in Carbon County, the Utah Defendant did receive, via social media, pictures of a minor under the age of 18 displaying nudity and or sexual poses,” court documents state. “The Defendant, who was 43 years old at the time, had sexual intercourse with the minor who was 16 at the time of the offense. During that sexual encounter, the Defendant provided marijuana, which was ingested by himself and the minor. After the sexual encounter, the Defendant, being aware of a potential criminal investigation, contacted the minor by phone asking her to not disclose any facts regarding the above criminal activity.”
Investigators say the relationship took place between March 1 and June 29. Pastrana, who taught language arts at Emery High School at the time, allegedly had the relationship during the time schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the sexual acts, Pastrana and the teen used marijuana during that time. He also possessed nude and sexual photos of the girl.
According to a probable cause statement, Pastrana and the teen victim communicated daily through phone calls, texts and emails. He allegedly praised her and “began grooming the 16-year-old victim through the use of text messages and emails.” Court documents state that Pastrana told the girl how he missed seeing her at school and how attractive and talented she was. He ultimately said, according to the documents, that he could “see a life with her in the future.”
Police state that in mid-April, the teacher requested photos of the girl, both in her underwear and nude, in specific positions. There were seven photos, 26 phone calls and 6,417 text messages between Pastrana and the victim.
According to court documents, the two met at his home where the victim told investigators they had kissed and where he touched her sexually. She was able to describe the inside of his home. Documents state that the two also smoked marijuana provided by Pastrana. Afterward, they reportedly engaged in more sexual acts and had sexual intercourse.
Then, in June, a phone call between Pastrana and the teen was recorded and provided to law enforcement. Pastrana allegedly told her that he believed he was in “serious trouble” and that there was a criminal investigation involving him. He reportedly asked the victim not to tell anyone about their relationship, stating that “his life depends on her and to please be on his side.”
According to the documents, he told her to say that she had his email just for future references. Pastrana then allegedly told her that they should have no further contact.
Pastrana worked for the Emery School District for one school year. He was hired to teach at Emery High in the summer of 2019. Before teaching for the Emery School District, he taught overseas and in elementary schools.