Tera Johnson-Swartz, a 45-year-old former STEM School Highlands Ranch teacher, was sentenced to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of cybercrime, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said March 19.
The sheriff’s office said the cybercrime charge stemmed from Johnson-Swartz’s continued contact with the student after criminal charges were filed. The office announced the guilty plea and sentence on March 19.
The relationship with a 16-year-old was discovered around January 2025 when the student’s parents found sexually explicit text messages, The Denver Post reported. The Denver Post also reported that Johnson-Swartz had been named one of seven finalists for Colorado’s Teacher of the Year five months before the investigation began.
Documents reviewed by The Denver Post show the relationship began with texting and escalated, with Johnson-Swartz giving the student cigarettes, letting him use her marijuana vape pen and eventually engaging in a physical relationship, the outlet reported. The school suspended, later fired and banned her from campus, the outlet said.
Authorities said the student was later seen on camera leaving campus and getting into a car matching Johnson-Swartz’s vehicle, according to CBS. The student told investigators she had picked him up and driven him to a nearby neighborhood, CBS reported. Detectives with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit arrested Johnson-Swartz in February 2025 on charges that included kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, the sheriff’s office said.
CBS reported Johnson-Swartz secured a $100,000 bond with a bondsman and was released the next day. The outlet said the student’s parents alerted authorities over the Fourth of July weekend when the two were reportedly still in contact; they reportedly encountered each other two nights in a row and Johnson-Swartz began calling and texting. The sheriff’s office said she was ordered to complete six years of sex offender probation after her release and must register as a convicted sex offender.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
