A Brooklyn Park teacher has been charged with sexually assaulting one of his students just months after he was named Minnesota's "Teacher of the Year."
Abdul Jameel Wright, 38, is charged with criminal sexual conduct after he allegedly assaulted a 14-year-old student in 2017.
According to the criminal complaint, the victim's mother reported the assault in May of this year to Minneapolis Police Department.
The victim, now 21, told officers that Wright was her 8th-grade English teacher at Harvest Best Academy in Minneapolis, a school where he worked for over a decade and where he was employed when he was named Education Minnesota's "Teacher of the Year 2016."
The former student says that Wright groomed her by singling her out, giving her special treatment, and letting her eat lunch in his classroom. Wright would play music for her and tell her how it reminded him of her.
He began to call the victim every day and because he began to develop a closer relationship with her mom, to the point she trusted to babysit Wright's children at his home.
The victim recalled a day she stayed after school to babysit, but the children were not home. Instead, she stayed to help Wright grade papers, which is when he asked her if she was a virgin.
She says the sexual contact started after that, with him groping and kissing her when he would take her home. Eventually, the groping led to the victim being forced to perform oral sex on Wright.
He would assault her both in his classroom, his house, and the victim's home. She remembers when her raped her at his house; his children were in another room watching a movie.
She states the two had sexual intercourse and sexual contact for almost a year and that the abuse ended around the time she entered 9th grade.
Wright, who is not currently in custody, has his first court appearance scheduled for September 18. No attorney has been listed for him yet.
According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, Harvest Best Academy is gathering all available information regarding the allegations, saying they "are limited in what we can share until this thorough investigation has been conducted and we are fully cooperating with all authorities."
The newspaper also reported that in May, his most recent employer, St. Louis Park High School, announced he had been placed on administrative leave because of "a concerning social media post."
As of ten months ago, Wright seemed to have started a new career path in real estate, announcing the decision on his LinkedIn.
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