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Ex-Coach In Sex Assault Case Gets Minimum 12 Year Sentence

GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) - A former high school coach will spend more than a decade in prison for having sex with a student.

A judge in Jefferson County sentenced Wesley Specht Friday morning. A jury convicted him of assaulting one victim, but not two other accusers.

The former Alameda High School girls basketball coach walked into the courtroom at the Jefferson County courthouse Friday morning with several family members by his side.

With tearful eyes, Specht's parents each addressed the judge, begging him for mercy and the lowest possible sentence, claiming their son is not a monster.

An 18-year-old woman who was 17 at the time she had a sexual relationship with Specht also testified. She told the judge she is not a victim and called Specht her "partner and best friend."

She asked the judge not sentence the former coach to time in jail, but that was inevitable. Prosecutors say the judge made the right decision.

"I think the judge imposed a fair and appropriate sentence for the conduct that he was convicted of," said Jefferson County DA's spokesman Bryan Cook.

The defense and Specht's family denied to comment.

The judge said he will not consider Specht a sexually violent predator and credited him the 8 days he has already served behind bars.

Defense submitted a motion for appeal, but it was denied.

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