 Blount County Schools 
 
 An Alabama high school math teacher married an 18-year-old recent graduate over the weekend, after he was charged in January with having an inappropriate relationship with her. Matthew Shane Wester, 37, married Amy Nicole Cox, 18, in Gulf Shores on Saturday, according to public records. The marriage, authorities said, could impact the criminal case against Wester, who resigned as a teacher and coach at Cleveland High School. Matthew Shane Wester, 37, was indicted in January and charged with one count of a school employee having sexual contact with a student under the age of 19, according to Al.com. Wester , a math teacher and coach at Cleveland High School, was placed on paid leave in November 2014 amid the allegations. The New York Daily News reports that according to the January indictment, the teacher “intentionally and knowingly engaged with a male or female student under the age of 19 in sexual conduct which was done for the purpose of gratifying the sexual desire of either party, to wit — kissing and spending the night with the victim." Efforts to reach couple for comment weren't immediately successful. Cox graduated from high school in May, and they obtained their marriage license in Cullman County on June 8. Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey told The Huffington Post that Cox was 17 at the time of the alleged sexual contact. "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." "Pursuant to Ala. Code 1975 12-21-227, "The husband and wife may testify either for or against each other in criminal cases, but shall not be compelled to do so."
– Former Alabama math teacher Matthew Shane Wester—accused of having sexual contact with student Amy Nicole Cox—married the teen over the weekend. Wester, 37, and Cox, 18, got hitched just weeks after she graduated high school. Cox was still 17 years old when she had an inappropriate relationship with the then-married Wester, Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey tells the Huffington Post. The relationship was discovered in November, and Wester was placed on unpaid leave. He later resigned, according to AL.com. The former assistant football coach, head track coach, and algebra and geometry teacher was indicted in January, and finalized his divorce in April. Per 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." The pair's marriage will not halt the criminal investigation, although it may impede its progress. "Now that the legal status of their relationship has changed, we will have to look at our case to determine how we will proceed,'' Casey says, because under Alabama law spouses cannot be compelled to testify against each other. (In other teacher-turned-lover news: Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili are still married after 10 years.)