A Nebraska high school teacher faces up to 20 years behind bars for having sex with a former student — because he rushed in too soon after she graduated, according to authorities.
Sixth-grade teacher and wrestling coach Cody Pester, 26, started sending flirty texts to the 18-year-old girl on the day she graduated in May — with it turning sexual two months later, in July, according to police docs obtained by KOLN.
The pair shared more than 13,000 often-romantic texts — and the teacher admitted having sex, including at least six times that July alone, according to the documents.
Although the girl was above the legal age of consent, which is 16 in Nebraska, and no longer a student at Palmyra High School, Pester was charged with breaking a state law that bans school workers from having sexual relationships or contact with students for 90 days after they graduate.
“She graduated in May, the relationship turned sexual in July, in that 90-day period, that’s why the violation occurred,” Ben Houchin, the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office chief deputy, told a press conference.
The teacher, who does not have a criminal record, was charged with sexual abuse — and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted, KOLN noted.
Pester is next due in court on March 9. Although police and school officials called him Pester, his name was spelled “Prester” on a screenshot from jail.
Cops were tipped off about the relationship in December, according to the documents, although it’s not clear who first reported it.
The unidentified former student told investigators that she knew Pester from when she was an athlete at the high school, where he was also a wrestling coach.
Pester had already been taken out of the classroom and banned from hosting any after-school activities at the time of his arrest. The school offered counselling for other students.
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