Former cheer coach sentenced to life in prison for sexual abuse of a child

Andrew Alan Brown, 38, of Dripping Springs, was sentenced to life in prison on May 30 after being found guilty of continuous sexual abuse of a child younger than 14 years old earlier this year.

Brown was a real estate agent who also worked with young children as a cheer coach. According to a report following Brown’s arrest, the Dripping Springs Century News said that Brown was the owner of a cheer gym in Dripping Springs.

The evidence showed that the defendant had sexually abused an eightyear- old child for more than a year, according to a press release from Hays County Criminal District Attorney Kelly Higgins. The victim was the child of a family friend. The evidence showed that Brown had, on numerous occasions, volunteered to care for the child while his wife and friends were out and that the abuse occurred during these times.

Brown was released on bond before the trial. Following his conviction, Brown’s bond was revoked, and he was taken into custody for a sentencing hearing in front of 207th District Court Judge Tracie Wright Reneau. Evidence in the punishment phase showed that the defendant had also possessed thousands of pornographic images depicting the sexual abuse of young children. The child pornography was discovered after he made calls from jail asking a family member to destroy the storage device containing the images.

This case was investigated by Hays County Sheriff’s Office Detective Brian Wahlert and prosecuted by Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Shelby Griffin and James Peplinski, with assistance from ACDAs Miranda Ebersole and Allison Buess.

“We would like to thank the victim and their family for the bravery and strength that it took to come forward and face the defendant in court,” Griffin said. “The sentence in this case shows that child sexual abuse will not be tolerated in Hays County.”