DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — A former teacher, who was a 2025 Colorado Teacher of the Year finalist, has been arrested on charges of kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Tera Johnson-Swartz, 44, of Castle Rock was previously an English teacher at STEM School Highlands Ranch.
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office said she was arrested on Thursday on charges of second-degree kidnapping, a class 2 felony, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a class 1 misdemeanor.
According to Johnson-Swartz's arrest affidavit obtained by Denver7 on Friday afternoon, a Douglas County detective began working a kidnapping case on Feb. 18 that allegedly happened at STEM School Highlands Ranch. She was identified as a suspect. A juvenile victim was also identified.
A detective spoke with the victim. The juvenile — whose gender and age is unknown — said they had known Johnson-Swartz for about a year and a half and was in a small class led by her. The two exchanged music and the juvenile made a playlist for her. At one point, Johnson-Swartz put her number in the juvenile's phone, the affidavit read.
"That's when we started talking," the juvenile told investigators, according to the document.
On Jan. 11, Johnson-Swartz bought the juvenile cigarettes, the affidavit reads.
"She picked me up, we kissed, and then she dropped me off, and that was it. That was the end of it," the juvenile said, according to the affidavit.
When asked by a detective, the juvenile said some of the texts back and forth were "more intimate discussions," the affidavit reads.
Toward the end of the interview with the juvenile, they said they met with Johnson-Swartz and talked about how what they were doing was wrong.
On Jan. 22, detectives met with a couple — who appeared to be the parents or guardians of the juvenile, though it is unclear in the redacted affidavit — as they used the "Find My Phone" application to check on the juvenile's whereabouts and spoke with the juvenile about lying about where they had been and who they had been texting. The couple said they are also the only ones that can give permission to allow the juvenile to leave school. The couple found deleted texts between the juvenile and Johnson-Swartz that contained about 2,400 messages and confronted the juvenile about it. In several of the messages, Johnson-Swartz told the juvenile to delete the texts, the affidavit reads.
The couple told police in their interview that they did not know if they should report this to the school, according to the affidavit.
Later on that same day, Jan. 22, a detective reviewed downloaded materials from the juvenile's phone. The conversation appeared to begin on Dec. 18, 2024 and the last message visible was Jan. 15, 2025.
The detective did not find any prior criminal history for Johnson-Swartz.
On Jan. 29, an attorney reached out to the sheriff's office to say she had been retained as counsel for Johnson-Swartz.
Matt Cartier, chief innovation officer of STEM School of Highlands Ranch, confirmed Johnson-Swartz worked at the school until Feb. 14, however she had been put on paid-administrative leave on Jan. 21.
A few weeks later on Feb. 20, a detective spoke with the juvenile again, who admitted that they had seen Johnson-Swartz two days prior, when she picked them up at school and they drove around before parking in a neighborhood and talking about the investigation. Johnson-Swartz then drove the juvenile back to school, the affidavit reads. A license plate recognition program confirmed these movements of Johnson-Swartz's car.
Johnson-Swartz is being held at the Douglas County Detention Facility. She is next due in court on Feb. 26.
She was named a 2025 Colorado Teacher of the Year finalist — one of seven out of a pool of 1,300. The page was deleted after Denver7 published this story. A screenshot of the page is below.
Cartier with STEM School of Highlands Ranch, released the following statement:
"A former high-school teacher was arrested last night and we are fully cooperating with authorities. The Douglas County Sheriff's office notified us of an investigation into this individual on January 21, 2025 and we immediately put her on paid-administrative leave, denying access to our campus, electronic records and students. The teacher worked at our school from 2022 to February 14, 2025. Under state and federal law, the teacher is presumed innocent until proven guilty."
Anybody with information on this case is asked to contact Det. Randy Allen at rallen@dcsheriff.net.
This remains an open investigation. No other details on the case have been released.
Denver7 is working to learn more. Stay with us for updates.
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