Ex-Kentucky high school basketball coach pleads guilty to rape of student

For the second time this month, a judge sentenced a former Kentucky high school basketball coach.

Ex-Rowan County coach and teacher Andrew Zaheri, 40, pleaded guilty to 21 counts of rape and sodomy of a 17-year-old Rowan County High School student. Those 21 counts were for 10 counts of rape in the third degree and 11 counts of sodomy in the third degree.

Each charge brought a sentence of five years, which will be served concurrently.

The state's sentence, announced this week, will also run concurrent with the federal sentence Zaheri received two weeks prior.

Kentucky State Police arrested Zaheri and launched an investigation in February 2023.

In May 2023, a Rowan County grand jury indicted Zaheri on 23 counts, including two of promoting a sexual performance of a minor who is under 18, which carried a penalty of five to 10 years, according to court documents. Those two counts were dismissed earlier this week.

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

U.S. District Court Judge David L. Bunning sentenced Zaheri on July 8 in the Eastern District Court of Kentucky to 22 years for the production of child porn with a 17-year-old.

Zaheri pleaded guilty in that case in February after admitting in court documents to creating sexually explicit images and videos involving a 17-year-old Rowan County High School student during sexual acts, including on two separate dates in September 2022.

S tephanie Kuzydym is an enterprise and investigative sports reporter, with a focus on the health and safety of athletes. She can be reached at skuzydym@courier-journal.com . Follow her for updates at @stephkuzy .

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Ex-Kentucky high school basketball coach pleads guilty to rape of student