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Abdul Jameel Wright, a former Minnesota “Teacher of the Year,” has been charged with grooming and raping a 14-year-old student over the course of a year.
At the time, Wright, 30, was an English teacher at Harvest Best Academy in Minneapolis. He faces a felony charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor aged 13 to 15 in a position of authority. The alleged assaults began in September 2016, four months after he received the Teacher of the Year award.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Wright worked at Harvest Best Academy from 2011 until last year. He most recently taught at St. Louis Park High School but was placed on administrative leave in May following a “concerning social media post” about alleged severe misconduct. A woman on Facebook accused Wright of “taking a little girl’s innocence” and shared audio of him allegedly crying and pleading with her not to contact the police.
Harvest Best Academy stated it is still gathering information about the allegations and cooperating with authorities, as The Minnesota Star Tribune reported. The school emphasized that while it is limited in what it can disclose, its priority is the safety and security of its community. Wright is not in custody but is scheduled to appear in court on September 18.
In May, the mother of a now-22-year-old woman reported criminal sexual conduct to the Minneapolis Police. The woman, who also provided a statement and underwent a forensic interview, alleged that while in Wright’s 8th grade English class, he gave her special treatment, such as allowing her to eat lunch in his classroom, playing music associated with her, and frequently calling her while developing a friendship with her mother.
According to The Daily Wire, “The girl began babysitting Wright’s children after school. One day she went to babysit the children, and they were not there, but Wright was. Wright allegedly began kissing her and asked if she was a virgin, according to court documents. Over the next year, he allegedly increased the abuse, assaulting the young teen in his classroom, in his car, in his home, and even at the girl’s mother’s home, ultimately raping her. The alleged sexual abuse stopped when the girl left for 9th grade.”
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UPDATE: Here’s the social media post referenced in the St. Louis Park HS email which appears to implicate Minnesota 2016 Teacher of the Year Abdul Wright in alleged sexual allegations involving a minor. pic.twitter.com/72W7pkwTBA— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) May 17, 2024
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