JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Andrew Lynn Overheul, the former Clay County softball coach who was arrested for taking videos of girls on his team, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on Tuesday.
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Action News Jax first reported on Overheul when federal agents began their investigation into the coach back in April.
Related Story: Clay County softball coach facing federal charges for allegedly producing child pornography
According to court documents, on Sept. 17, 2022, the parent of a 12-year-old child contacted the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. The call was to report that their child found a cellphone recording her changing and using the shower in the bathroom at her softball coach’s house.
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The Department of Justice said that CCSO responded that night and interviewed the parent of the child who reported the video recording. The parent and the child said that they were at Overhaul’s home earlier that day for a softball team family party. The children had decided to have a group sleepover at Overheul’s home.
Court documents explain that Overheul told the girl she could take a shower in the master bedroom because another girl was using the shower in his other bathroom.
While the girl was taking that shower in the master bedroom, she spotted a phone in the bathroom that was positioned between two boxes.
Read: Putnam County Sheriff’s Office concludes months long investigation with arrest of convicted felon
“Upon closer inspection, MV1 (the 12-year-old child) discovered the phone was actively recording and she immediately grabbed the phone and stopped the recording,” court documents said. “MV1 reviewed the video and discovered that it depicted her, so she deleted the video, placed the phone back on the counter, and called her parents to pick her up.”
A text message by the girls parents was sent to Overheul saying they were coming to pick the child up. At 8:44 p.m., Overheul texted back, “Hey we talked with the girls. No one is admitting [sic] to playing a joke. The others that were in that bathroom said they saw my phone charging but no other phones.”
During the investigation, agents obtained a search warrant for Overheul’s cellphone. According to the court documents, during a forensic review, agents found two photos of several minor females on the softball team wearing swimsuits and sitting on the floor in Overhel’s living room, dated Sept. 17, 2022, with a time stamp of 5:36 p.m.
Other details in the court documents said that a search for “canon remote app” was conducted on Overheul’s phone and that the app was installed a few seconds later. The app was described in the documents as being able to remotely shoot from a camera to a smartphone.
On Nov. 18, 2022, Homeland Security Investigations executed a search warrant at Overheul’s home. Hundreds of photos and videos of children appearing to have been taken without their consent were seized.
“This individual, in a position of trust, mentorship, and oversight over children in our community, abused this position in the most heinous of ways and will be held accountable for his despicable actions,” HSI Jacksonville Assistant Special Agent in Charge K. Jim Phillips said. “This is another successful Northeast Florida INTERCEPT Task Force investigation that has stopped another dangerous predator from exploiting the vulnerability of unsuspecting children.”
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Overheul had pleaded guilty on Jun. 7, 2023. He has been detained since his arrest on Apr. 20, 2023. During sentencing on Tuesday, Overheul also received a lifetime of supervised release once he’s released from prison.
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