In spring 2025, a sixth-grade teacher in Nebraska encountered a student while serving as a high school wrestling coach.
Authorities say Cody Pester, 26, began exchanging text messages with the student on May 10 — the same day she graduated from high school in Palmyra — according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the publication.
By July 18, 2025, the two had decided to enter into an intimate relationship, based on statements attributed to both Pester and the unnamed woman, who was 18 at the time, the affidavit says.
Investigators in Lancaster County were alerted to an allegation of sexual abuse involving a school employee on Dec. 29, 2025, the affidavit states. It does not specify who reported the allegation. Less than a month later, detectives interviewed the alleged victim.
During an interview on Jan. 23, she told investigators she and Pester “agreed to be in an intimate relationship” about two months after she graduated, according to the affidavit. She also reported that they engaged in intimate relations on several occasions in July and August 2025, investigators wrote.
Following that interview, detectives sought and received an arrest warrant for Pester, who was taken into custody on Jan. 26.
After being advised of his Miranda rights, Pester waived his right to remain silent and told detectives he and the woman had been in a relationship, the affidavit states. He estimated they engaged in sexual contact about six times in July 2025, according to investigators.
Pester was booked and charged with sexual abuse by a school official.
Under Nebraska law, teachers are prohibited from intimate relationships with students. The state’s restrictions can also apply even after a student leaves school: the affidavit notes that a teacher may still be in violation if the relationship occurs within 90 days of the student leaving or graduating.
At Pester’s first court appearance, a judge set bail at $100,000. He was released after posting a $10,000 bond, according to court records obtained by the publication.
The school district said in a letter to parents after his arrest that Pester had been “immediately removed … from all classroom and extracurricular duties,” and that officials were “cooperating fully with law enforcement” during the investigation.
Pester’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment. He has not entered a plea, and his next court appearance is scheduled for March. If convicted at trial, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
