SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — A former teacher of Wynot Public Schools has been sentenced for the attempted enticement of a minor.

According to court documents, Andrew Heller, 39, of Sergeant Bluff, was sentenced Friday morning in U.S. District Court in Sioux City to 120 months (10 years) in prison. After his prison sentence, he must then undergo five years of supervised release.

As part of a plea agreement, Heller pleaded guilty in January to coercion or enticement of a female. A second charge, that of attempting to establish peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude, or human trafficking, was dismissed as part of the agreement.

Andrew Heller Courtesy Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office

Heller was arrested in Sioux City in July 2022 after the FBI alerted the Sioux City Police Department that Heller trying to entice a 14-year-old into sexual activities.

Heller responded to an advertisement of a 19-year-old offering sexual services for money. Heller responded to the ad, communicating with an undercover FBI agent posing as a 14-year-old girl. Heller agreed to pay $200 and alcohol to have sex with who he thought was an underaged girl, authorities said.

Heller was originally charged with prostitution and one count of enticing a minor under 16 for a sexual purpose in Iowa before the case was dismissed and then pursued through the federal court.

Heller was employed by Wynot Public Schools at the time of his arrest. The Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan reported that he resigned from the school district on July 28, 2022.