A fifth-grade teacher who coerced two minors to engage in sex acts in front of her has been sentenced to 27 years in prison.
Keisha Lyn Swarner, 42, was handed the lengthy prison stretch on top of 30 years of supervised release after manipulating the minors and luring them to her home in San Antonio, Texas.
She was arrested in April 2022 after the parent of a 13-year-old boy discovered a phone Swarner had given him, in which she was saved as a contact called ‘mom.’
An investigation uncovered a sickening grooming campaign where 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 sex acts.
Keisha Lyn Swarner, 42, was sentenced to 27 years in prison after coercing two minors to engage in sex acts in front of her during a sickening grooming campaign
Swarner’s illegal conduct occurred while she was a fifth-grade teacher at Edgewood Independent School District, however a district official said her crimes have ‘nothing to do with Edgewood nor its students.’
It is unclear how she met her two victims nor how long the abuse went on for, with the campaign only ending when the boy’s mother discovered a phone Swarner had given him.
As authorities launched an investigation, the boy told officers that Swarner had given him as many as four iPads and two iPhones, along with cash.
It was found that Swarner had been sending lewd texts with the boy, including him sending her a photo of himself wearing only a towel.
When he told her that he had no hot water during the exchange, she invited him round to her home to shower instead, reports San Antonio Express News.
Swarner lured the minors to her home at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, where she lived with her servicemember husband
On one instance at the military base, Swarner persuaded a male victim to have sexual relations with a 12-year-old girl, despite him initially refusing
During the investigation, it was found that Swarner had also snared a 12-year-old girl through her grooming campaign, and the teacher had paid the two victims money to send pictures of their private parts to each other.
Officials added that Swarner had also paid the boy money to put on a girl’s bathing suit.
The boy told investigators that as the grooming escalated, Swarner would frequently pick him up and take him to her home at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, where she lived with her servicemember husband. Swarner’s social media also shows she is a mother, but it is 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 him initially refusing.
When Swarner was confronted by officers, she denied any knowledge or involvement in the crimes, and even ‘brought up that she recorded audio of (the boy) confessing that he was making this up’, prosecutors said.
However, officials added that her ‘story slowly changed’, and she admitted to sending many of the messages that were found on the phones.
Swarner initially denied any knowledge of the crimes, but officials said her ‘story slowly changed’, and she ultimately 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 found out the male victim was going to be interviewed by detectives, she messaged him on TikTok to coach him about what to say.
It was also claimed that she instructed the female victim to use the boy’s iPad to delete the TikTok messages.
Prosecutors said after the boy spoke to detectives, Swarner continued to try and coach him, ‘attempting to get him to say that he lied’ to police.
In one piece of evidence brought against the teacher, she was found to have texted him: ‘Put your phone away so no one can find it, and if they find it, we’re in so much trouble.’
Swarner initially pleaded not guilty, but in January 2024 pleaded guilty to one count of sexual performance by a child, admitting that she had authorized and induced a child younger than 14 years of age to engage in sexual conduct.
