A former Colorado teacher has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for sexually exploiting a student

Tera Johnson-Schwartz, a 45-year-old writer and former teacher at STEM School Highlands Ranch, 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. Officials indicated that the cybercrime charge stems from her continued contact with the student.

The former teacher was accused of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old, which was discovered around January 2025 when The student’s parents Find texts containing explicit sexual content, According to To the Denver Post.

Johnson Schwartz, who was recognized as one of seven finalists for Colorado Teacher of the Year just five months before the investigation, was ultimately charged in two separate cases. The first arose from a grand jury investigation into the relationship in early 2025 and the second related to her continued contact with the student.

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Tera Johnson-Schwartz, a former teacher at STEM School Highlands Ranch, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for having inappropriate relationships with students. (Douglas County Sheriff’s Office)

Documents show the relationship began with text messages but quickly escalated, with Johnson-Schwartz giving the student cigarettes, allowing him to use her marijuana pen, and eventually engaging in a physical relationship, the local outlet reported.

She was reportedly suspended from school once the allegations came to light and was later expelled and banned from campus.

Less than a month later, the student in question was caught on camera leaving campus and getting into a car that matched Johnson Schwartz’s. According to for CBS. The teen reportedly admitted to investigators that his former teacher picked him up and took him to a nearby neighborhood.

The incident prompted an investigation, and in February 2025, investigators from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit arrested Johnson Swartz on charges of kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a minor in connection with an inappropriate relationship with a female student.

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STEM School Highlands Ranch is an independent school in Colorado. (google maps)

Johnson-Schwartz obtained a $100,000 bond with the help of a professional surety and was released the next day, the outlet said.

However, over the Fourth of July weekend that year, authorities were alerted by the student’s parents, who reported that the two were still in contact, according to CBS.

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Authorities arrested Johnson-Schwartz in 2025 after allegations that Johnson-Schwartz had a sexual relationship with a female student. (Istock)

The two reportedly confronted each other for two nights in a row and Johnson-Schwartz began calling and texting in the following days.

Johnson Schwartz was arrested again. In addition to her prison sentence, she was reportedly ordered to complete her probation Six years of probation for sex offenders After her release, which includes registering as a convicted sex offender.