Charges: Former Minnesota Teacher of the Year groomed, raped 14-year-old student

A former Minnesota Teacher of the Year is accused of grooming and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old student from his English class at Harvest Best Academy in Minneapolis.

Abdul Jameel Wright, 38, is charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person between the ages of 13-15 while in a position of authority. The assaults lasted for a year and allegedly started in September 2016, four months after Wright was named Minnesota Teacher of the Year. He was the first teacher from a charter school to win the award.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Wright worked at Harvest Best from 2011 to 2023. He was most recently hired at St. Louis Park High School but in May the school announced he had been placed on administrative leave because of “a concerning social media post.”

Harvest Best Academy said in a statement, “At this time, we are gathering all available information and facts related to these allegations. We are limited in what we can share until this thorough investigation has been conducted and we are fully cooperating with all authorities. We understand these allegations may be concerning, and our top priority remains the safety and security of our school community.”

Messages left at St. Louis Park High School were not returned.

A summons was issued for Wright to appear in Hennepin County District Court on Sept. 18. He is not currently in custody. Wright has the highest level of educator license with the Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board, and it remains active. No attorney was listed for him.

According to court documents:

In May of this year, the mother of the former student filed a criminal sexual conduct report with the Minneapolis Police Department, alleging that in 2016 Wright began grooming and sexually assaulting her 14-year-old daughter.

The victim, who is now 22, provided a statement to police and a forensic interview that detailed the allegations. She said that when she was in Wright’s 8th-grade English class, he began singling her out and giving her special treatment. He let her eat lunch in his classroom and played music that “reminded him of her.” He began calling the girl every day and developing a close relationship with her mother.

That closeness opened the door for Wright to be alone with his student, and eventually she began babysitting Wright’s children after school.

One day she stayed after school to babysit but Wright’s children were not there. Wright began kissing her and asked if she was a virgin, court documents say. Wright advanced the sexual behavior incrementally each day, including assaulting the girl in his classroom, in his car and home and at the victim’s mother’s home. Eventually they had sex.

The alleged abuse lasted for a year until she left for 9th grade.