Bloomington Police have arrested a Chiddix Junior High teacher on charges of grooming and possessing child sexual abuse material, four months after officers executed a search warrant in his classroom.
Police spokesperson Bryce Janssen said a warrant was issued for Andrew “Drew” Miller, 40, of Normal following a grand jury indictment Wednesday morning. Officers from the department’s street crimes unit pulled Miller over at a traffic stop at Hamilton Road and Bunn Street. He was taken into custody at 1:12 p.m.
Janssen said prosecutors are seeking 42 counts against Miller: one count of indecent solicitation of child, one count of grooming and 40 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material. Janssen said that includes video and photographic images.
Miller is expected to appear at a detention hearing Thursday afternoon in McLean County court.
Janssen said Bloomington Police launched an investigation into Miller on Feb. 9 after a victim reported they had exchanged photographs with Miller. The photos were alleged to be sexual in nature and were sent when the victim was a minor, while Miller held a position of trust or authority, police said.
On Feb. 18, officers executed multiple search warrants in the investigation, including a search of Miller's classroom during the school day. Unit 5 said the school was placed on a soft lockdown, where students and staff were held in place during the search.
Police said investigators seized several electronic devices and had them forensically analyzed by the department's cyber crimes unit. Police identified at least five additional victims during the investigation.
The district informed Chiddix families at the time that Miller had been removed from the classroom “for the foreseeable future.”
Miller, who taught seventh-grade science and language arts, was placed on paid administrative leave.
Unit 5 issued a communication to Chiddix families on Wednesday afternoon, recommending resources to parents or children who have questions and concerns. That includes YWCA McLean County's 24-hour service for survivors of sexual assault and abuse.
"This news is deeply unsettling, and we share the concern that many in our school community are feeling regarding this type of alleged behavior. The safety and well-being of our students and families are our highest priorities, and behavior that compromises that will not be tolerated in our district," the statement said.
The district told WGLT Miller remains on paid leave, but "we will be taking steps to move him to unpaid leave."
Shortly after the search of his Chiddix classroom, the Lexington school district fired Miller from his volunteer role with the Lexington-Ridgeview cheer program.
In 2019, Miller was placed on leave from his job as a cheerleading coach at University High School following an alleged incident with a juvenile at a hotel at Grizzly Jack’s Grand Bear Resort in Utica. No charges were filed in that case, but Unit 5, where he was employed as a teacher, placed him on leave and gave him a Notice to Remedy in 2020 for what the district described as "inappropriate and unprofessional acts as a teacher."
Miller is one of two teachers at Chiddix Junior High to face criminal charges in recent months. Brandon Knapp was arrested and charged in April on felony grooming charges. Knapp remains jailed as he faces a pretrial hearing on July 7. The district confirmed Knapp has since resigned from his teaching position at Unit 5.
Police encourage anyone with additional information related to this case or who believes they may have had similar interactions with Miller to contact detective Weston Gresham at 309-434-2570 or
wgresham@cityblm.org.
