Former Alabama High School teacher, Matthew Shane Wester, 37, married his former student, Amy Nicole Cox, 18, Saturday in Alabama. Wester was indicted in January on charges that he had an inappropriate relationship with his student, Cox.
Wester was a math teacher and coach at Cleveland High School. He was placed on paid leave pending the outcome of the criminal case but has since resigned.
According to the indictment, Wester "intentionally and knowingly engaged with a male or female student under the age of 19 in sexual contact which was done for the purpose of gratifying the sexual desire of either party, to wit – kissing and spending the night with the victim," according to AL.com.
Now that the couple are married they cannot be forced to testify against each other in court, which could have a major impact in the case against Wester. District Attorney for Blount County, Pamela Casey, spoke about the new developments saying, "The charges currently pending against Mr. Wester stem from an investigation of his relationship with the victim while she was a student and he was a teacher," she explained. "Now that the legal status of their relationship has changed, we will have to look at our case to determine how we will proceed."
Wester was married at the time the investigation began but be became officially divorced from his wife in April. Wester's ex-wife was awarded custody of their children.
