A fifth-grade teacher who forced two minors to perform sexual acts in front of her was sentenced to 27 years in prison.
Keisha Lyn Swarner, 42, was sentenced to a lengthy prison term plus 30 years of supervised release after grooming the minors and luring them to her home in San Antonio, Texas.
She was arrested in April 2022 after the father of a 13-year-old boy discovered a phone Swarner had given him, in which she was saved as a contact named “Mom.”
An investigation uncovered a sickening campaign of sexual harassment in which Swarner had targeted the boy and a 12-year-old girl, including paying them with cash and Apple devices to send lewd images and engage in sexual acts.
Keisha Lyn Swarner, 42, was sentenced to 27 years in prison after forcing two minors to engage in sexual acts in front of her during a sickening campaign of sexual harassment.
Swarner’s illegal conduct occurred while she was a fifth-grade teacher in the Edgewood Independent School District, however, a district official said her crimes “have nothing to do with Edgewood or its students.”
It is unclear how he met his two victims or how long the abuse continued; the campaign only ended when the boy’s mother discovered a phone Swarner had given her.
When authorities launched an investigation, the boy told officers that Swarner had given him up to four iPads and two iPhones, along with cash.
Swarner was found to have been sending lewd messages to the boy, including him sending him a photo of himself wearing only a towel.
When he told her he had no hot water during the exchange, she reportedly invited him to her house to take a shower. San Antonio Express News.
Swarner lured the children to her home at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, where she lived with her military husband.
On one occasion at the military base, Swarner persuaded a male victim to have sex with a 12-year-old girl, despite her initial refusal.
During the investigation, it was discovered that Swarner had also tricked a 12-year-old girl through his seduction campaign, and the teacher had paid money to the two victims to send each other photos of their private parts.
Officials added that Swarner had also paid the boy money to wear a girl’s bathing suit.
The boy told investigators that as the harassment escalated, Swarner would frequently pick him up and take him to her home at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, where she lived with her husband, a military member. Swarner’s social media also shows she is a mother, but it’s unclear how many children she has.
During one of these occasions, Swarner persuaded the boy to have sexual relations with the 12-year-old girl, despite the boy’s initial refusal.
When officers confronted Swarner, she denied any knowledge or involvement in the crimes, and even “said she had recorded audio (of the boy) confessing that he was making it up,” prosecutors said.
However, officials added that her “story slowly changed” and she admitted to sending many of the messages found on the phones.
Swarner initially denied any knowledge of the crimes, but officials said his “story slowly changed” and he eventually pleaded guilty in January to one count of sexual performance by a child.
Swarner was also charged with obstruction of justice during the investigation after it was discovered that when she learned detectives were going to interview the male victim, she sent him a TikTok message directing him on what to say.
It was also alleged that he ordered the female victim to use the boy’s iPad to delete TikTok messages.
Prosecutors said that after the boy spoke to detectives, Swarner continued to try to coach him, “attempting to get him to say that he lied” to police.
In one of the pieces of evidence presented against the teacher, it was found that she had sent him a text message: ‘Put your phone away so no one can find it, and if they find it, we will be in big trouble.’
Swarner initially pleaded not guilty, but in January 2024 pleaded guilty to one count of sexual performance by a minor, admitting that he had authorized and induced a minor under the age of 14 to engage in sexual conduct.