Former Colorado teacher gets 14 years for sexually exploiting student

A former Colorado teacher and 2025 state Teacher of the Year finalist was sentenced to 14 years in prison after authorities said he had sexual intercourse with a student and continued to communicate with her after criminal charges were filed.

Tera Johnson-Swartz, a 45-year-old author and former STEM School Highlands Ranch educator, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of cybercrime, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office announced March 19. Authorities stated that the cybercrime charge stemmed from Tera Johnson-Swartz’s ongoing contact with the student.

The incident, in which the former teacher was accused of having sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old boy, came to light in January 2025 after the student’s parents found texts containing sexually explicit content. based on to the Denver Post.

Johnson-Swartz, who was recognized as one of seven finalists for Colorado’s Teacher of the Year award just five months before the investigation, was ultimately charged in two separate cases. The first stemmed from a grand jury investigation into the relationship in early 2025, while the second was linked to his ongoing communication with the student.

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Documents show the relationship began with text messaging but quickly escalated as Johnson-Swartz gave the student cigarettes, allowed him to use his marijuana pen and eventually engaged in a physical relationship.

He was reportedly suspended from school when the allegations came to light and was later fired and banned from campus.

Less than a month later, the student involved in the incident was caught on camera getting into a car that resembled Johnson-Swartz’s vehicle as he left campus. based on to CBS. The teen reportedly admitted to investigators that his former teacher picked him up and took him to a nearby neighborhood.

The incident sparked an investigation, and in February 2025, detectives with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit arrested Johnson-Swartz on charges of kidnapping a minor and contributing to the delinquency of an improper relationship with a student.

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STEM School Highlands Ranch is a charter school in Colorado. (Google Maps)

The outlet said Johnson-Swartz secured a $100,000 bond with the help of a professional bail bondsman and was released the next day.

But during the Fourth of July weekend that year, the student’s parents alerted authorities and reported that the two were still in contact, according to CBS.

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Authorities arrested Johnson-Swartz in 2025 following allegations that Johnson-Swartz had sexual intercourse with a student. (iStock)

The two reportedly ran into each other for two consecutive nights, and in the days that followed, Johnson-Swartz began calling and texting.

Johnson-Swartz was arrested again. In addition to the prison sentence, he was reportedly ordered to complete six years of sex offender probation upon his release, which includes registering as a convicted sex offender.