A fifth-grade teacher who forced two minors to perform sexual acts in front of her has been sentenced to 27 years in prison.
Keisha Lyn Swarner, 42, was given a lengthy prison sentence in addition to 30 years of supervised release after manipulating and luring minors into her San Antonio, Texas, home.
She was arrested in April 2022 after the parent of a 13-year-old boy found a phone Swarner had given him, in which she was saved as a contact with the name “mother.”
Investigation revealed that a vile grooming campaign had taken place in which Swarner had selected the boy and a 12-year-old girl, paying them with cash and Apple devices to send indecent images and perform sexual acts.
Keisha Lyn Swarner, 42, was sentenced to 27 years in prison after forcing two minors to perform sex acts in front of her during a disgusting grooming campaign
Swarner’s illegal behavior 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 she met her two victims or how long the abuse lasted. The campaign only ended when the boy’s mother discovered a phone Swarner had given him.
As authorities investigated, the boy told officers that Swarner had given him as many as four iPads and two iPhones, along with money.
It turned out that Swarner had been sending tasteless messages to the boy, including a photo of himself wearing only a towel.
When he told her he didn’t have hot water during the exchange, she invited him to come to her house to take a shower instead, reports San Antonio Express News.
Swarner lured the minors to her home on Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, where she lived with her husband, a military
At a military base, Swarner convinced a male victim to have sexual relations with a 12-year-old girl, despite initially refusing.
During the investigation, it emerged that Swarner had also managed to ensnare a 12-year-old girl through her grooming campaign. The teacher had paid the two victims money to send each other photos of their genitals.
Officials added that Swarner also paid the boy money to dress in a girl’s swimsuit.
The boy told investigators that as the grooming escalated, Swarner would regularly pick him up and take him to her home on Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, where she lived with her military husband. Swarner’s social media also identifies her as a mother, but it’s unclear how many children she has.
On one of these occasions, Swarner convinced the boy to have sexual relations with the 12-year-old girl, even though he initially refused.
When confronted by officers, Swarner denied any knowledge or involvement in the crimes and “even brought up that she had made an audio recording of (the boy) admitting that he had made this 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 her “story slowly changed” and she eventually pleaded guilty in January to one count of sexual conduct by a child.
Swarner was also charged with obstructing justice during the investigation after it emerged she messaged the male victim via TikTok to coach him on what to say when she learned he would be questioned by detectives.
She also allegedly instructed the female victim to use the boy’s iPad to delete the TikTok messages.
Prosecutors say after the boy spoke to detectives, Swarner continued to try to coach him and “try to get him to say he lied” to police.
In one of the pieces of evidence brought against the teacher, it was established that she had sent him the following text message: “Put your phone away so no one can find it. If they find it, we’re in trouble.”
Swarner initially pleaded not guilty, but in January 2024, she pleaded guilty to one count of sexual conduct by a child. She admitted to authorizing and inciting a child under the age of 14 to engage in sexual conduct.