A former Colorado teacher and a 2025 state Teacher of the Year finalist was sentenced to 14 years in prison after authorities say she engaged in a sexual relationship with a student and reportedly continued contacting him after being criminally charged.

Tera Johnson-Swartz, a 45-year-old writer 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 on March 19. Officials indicated that the cybercrime charge stemmed 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 found texts containing sexually explicit content, according to The Denver Post. 

Johnson-Swartz, who had been recognized as one of seven finalists for Colorado’s Teacher of the Year just five months before the investigation, was ultimately charged in two separate cases. The first stemmed from a grand jury probe into the relationship in early 2025 and the second tied to her continued contact with the student. 

NEW JERSEY TEACHER WHO SLEPT WITH STUDENTS AT FAMILY BAGEL SHOP LEARNS PRISON SENTENCE

Documents show the relationship started with texting but quickly escalated, with Johnson-Swartz giving the student cigarettes, letting him use her marijuana vape pen, and eventually engaging in a physical relationship, the local outlet reported.

She was reportedly suspended from the school once the allegations surfaced and was later fired and banned from campus.

Less than a month later, the involved student was caught on camera leaving campus and getting into a car that matched Johnson-Swartz’s vehicle, according to CBS. The teen reportedly admitted to investigators that his former teacher had picked him up and driven 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 and contributing to the delinquency of a minor in connection with an inappropriate relationship with a student.

WEST VIRGINIA TEACHER FIRED AFTER ARREST ON CHILD SEX ABUSE CHARGE

Johnson-Swartz secured a $100,000 bond with the assistance of a professional bondsman and was released the following 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.

The two reportedly encountered one another for two consecutive nights and Johnson-Swartz began calling and texting in the days that followed.

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

Shedeur Sanders is making a jersey change heading into his sophomore NFL season, and he’s going back to his Colorado roots. 

Sanders, who wore No. 12 during his rookie season, will wear No. 2 next year for the Cleveland Browns. 

As the Browns made it official on social media, Sanders did so as well, writing “#2” on X to coincide with his squad. 

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The move comes after wide receiver DeAndre Carter, who wore the number for Cleveland last season, is no longer on the roster. Now that he has a year under his belt, Sanders can make the change. 

And he does so with his old college number, as Sanders wore No. 2 at Jackson State University before transferring to Colorado, as his father, Deion Sanders, took the head coach role with the Buffaloes. 

SHEDEUR SANDERS’ WILD 2025 BEGAN WITH DRAFT FALL, BUT IT’S ENDING WITH HOPE AFTER TUMULTUOUS TURNS

While he was wearing No. 12 last season, Sanders started the year in a depth role, as veteran Joe Flacco was Kevin Stefanski’s starting quarterback. But, when Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals following Joe Burrow’s injury, Dillon Gabriel, who was drafted two rounds before Sanders in a shocking NFL Draft for the Buffaloes product, took over the role. 

He would be Gabriel’s backup, but after the latter’s struggles and injury, it was Sanders’ time to step up. 

Sanders won his first-ever start against the Las Vegas Raiders and went 3-4 across seven starts as he remained the starter for the remainder of the season. Since then, Stefanski was fired; head coach Todd Monken was hired, and the veteran coach who served as John Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens echoed what the Browns said heading into 2026 — there will be an open quarterback competition. 

Monken told NFL Network at the NFL owners meeting in Phoenix on Monday that the Browns haven’t “gotten that far yet” in terms of naming Sanders their starter heading into the team’s offseason program. 

Deshaun Watson, who has had a turbulent Browns tenure, is back in the fold, while Gabriel is back healthy heading into 2026. 

Sanders surely understands he’ll have to prove himself again with a new coaching staff in the building, as that’s ultimately the nature of the NFL except for a rare group of certified starters. 

But Sanders has a Pro Bowl under his belt already despite the small sample size on the NFL gridiron. He’s looking to build off the momentum of last season, but it’ll be a fresh start with a new number.  

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed the minimal coverage the liberal networks have given to the murder of 18-year-old Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman.

Leavitt took a moment at Monday’s press briefing to highlight a recent study from the Media Research Center showing CBS News dedicating two minutes and one second of coverage towards Gorman’s murder while ABC News spent just one minute and 19 seconds and NBC News spent just 23 seconds total.

She tied the murder, allegedly committed by an illegal immigrant who was roaming the streets of Chicago after being released into the country by the Biden administration, to the ongoing showdown on Capitol Hill as Democrats continue to block DHS funding over its objections to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“I think her life was worth more than 23 seconds on cable television,” Leavitt said. “And I think the people in this room have a responsibility to report on cases like this because it just exemplifies why the president believes so strongly in deporting illegal aliens from our communities.”

BROADCAST BIAS: NETWORKS DOWNPLAY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIME, EVEN WHEN WOMEN ARE MURDERED

Representatives for ABC News, CBS News and NBC News did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital‘s requests for comment.

While the three broadcast networks offered scarce attention to Gorman, the liberal cable networks turned a blind eye.

CNN, MS NOW AVOID COVERING LOYOLA STUDENT SHERIDAN GORMAN MURDERED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT IN CHICAGO

MS NOW has not mentioned the slain college student once after her murder began gaining national attention, according to Grabien transcripts. CNN has also avoided the story with the exception of a guest, Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who invoked Gorman’s murder during an interview and a separate instance where CNN aired live coverage of a separate White House briefing where Leavitt previously mentioned Gorman.

DHS confirmed that the suspect, Jose Medina-Medina, is “a Venezuelan criminal illegal alien” who was apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol and released into the country under the Biden administration in 2023. Medina-Medina was released again one month later after being arrested for shoplifting.

The Chicago Police Department formally charged Medina-Medina with first-degree murder.

SLAIN DC INTERN’S MOM URGES SHERIDAN GORMAN’S FAMILY TO ‘FIGHT BACK’ AFTER OBITUARY OLIVE BRANCH