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ST. GEORGE — A St. George man has admitted that he produced child pornography.
Brenton Andrews, 27, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in St. George to production of child pornography. As part of the plea deal, when Andrews is sentenced on July 7 prosecutors will ask that he be sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, followed by at least 20 years of supervised release.
Andrews was arrested a year ago by St. George police for investigation of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child. He was charged in state court but those charges were dismissed so the federal case could proceed first. A federal indictment was filed in December.
Zach Weiland, with the Washington County Attorney's Office, said now that the federal case has been resolved, he expects state charges to be re-filed within a week. He said once they are, a deal will already be in place for Andrews to plead guilty to aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a second-degree felony, and possession of meth, a third-degree felony. He will ask a judge to order his sentence in that case to run concurrently with his federal sentence.
Andrews sexually abused an 8-year-old child and videotaped it, according to an arrest warrant filed in 5th District Court by the St. George Police Department. His federal conviction deals solely with the videotaping of that alleged abuse.
