Andrew Primes (wearing red in back row) won a Crystal Apple Award in 2017 for work at Canyon Crest Academy.
Andrew Primes (wearing red in back row) won a Crystal Apple Award in 2017 for work at Canyon Crest Academy. Image via Del Mar Times

A former San Diego-area substitute teacher and Boy Scouts instructor who pleaded guilty to having thousands of images and videos of child pornography on his computer was sentenced Wednesday to 16 months in state prison.

Andrew Jared Primes, 32, must also register as a sex offender for life following his guilty plea last month to a child porn possession charge. He previously worked for the Poway Unified School District and San Dieguito Union High School District, and served as an instructor for the Boys Scouts of America Fiesta Island Summer Camp, police said.

Prosecutors say that following his arrest in July, a law enforcement search of Primes’ computer turned up more than 4,000 images and over 3,800 videos.

His arrest stemmed from a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding his internet activity, which was followed up by an investigation from the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

According to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, Primes sought probation with no jail time at sentencing and cited his work with the Boy Scouts as a mitigating factor, but a judge denied probation due to the large volume and the nature of the images and videos seized by police.