Former Bellwood-Antis coach sentenced, failed to protect students from sexual abuse

BLAIR COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — The former head varsity wrestling coach at Bellwood-Antis was sentenced for failing to protect students from sexual assault by junior high wrestling coach Ryan Blazier.

Timothy Andrekovich, 59, was sentenced to three to 23 months in prison after being convicted at trial of felony endangering the welfare of a child, Attorney General Dave Sunday announced Monday.

Andrekovich had oversight of the district’s wrestling program when he was made aware of the sexual abuse investigation involving Blazier; however, he failed to carry out a “safety plan” and allowed Blazier to have unsupervised access to students.

“This defendant had a responsibility to protect his students that he failed to live up to,” Sunday said. “He betrayed those students with a lack of action that directly led to sexual abuse of one of them. This sentence sends a message that authority figures in our schools must perform their duty of care. The Office of Attorney General will continue to hold accountable those who fail to protect our children.”

Blazier was under investigation for child sexual abuse allegations in December 2019, but was allowed to remain as coach under a “safety plan.” At trial, the Office of Attorney General presented evidence that Andrekovich failed to carry out the safety plan.

Blazier was previously sentenced to up to 43 years in prison. You can read more about that by clicking here.