Former Wynot teacher gets 10 years for coercion

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — A former Wynot teacher was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for coercion of a female.

Andrew Heller, 39, appeared in U.S. District Court in the northern district of Iowa Friday morning where he was sentenced to 120 months in prison, or 10 years. The court recommended Heller serve at the federal prison in Sandstone, Minn., or Englewood in Colorado. Both are low security male facilities with prison populations of more than 1,000.

After serving his sentence, he will be supervised for five years.

According to court documents, FBI investigators had been monitoring communications between Heller and a 14-year-old girl in which he offered her $200 for sex. He was working as a teacher and coach at Wynot Public Schools at the time of his arrest in summer 2022.

As part of his sentencing Friday, Heller was also ordered to contribute $5,000 to the cost of his court-appointed counsel