Former Minnesota Teacher of the Year groomed, assaulted girl, 14, officials say
A former Minnesota Teacher of the Year has been convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old student for nearly a year, officials say.
Abdul Jameel Wright, who in 2016 was awarded the top honor by Education Minnesota, was found guilty Sept. 10 of criminal sexual conduct, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
The accusations against Wright, 39, were reported in 2024 by the victim’s mother, who said her daughter was groomed and sexually assaulted by Wright beginning in 2017 when the victim was 14, according to a statement of probable cause.
While teaching at Harvest Best Academy in Minneapolis, Wright began a relationship with the eighth-grader by “singling her out and giving her special treatment,” authorities said.
“She described eating lunch with Defendant in his classroom, Defendant playing music for her and telling her how it reminded him of her, and stated Defendant started calling her every day,” Minneapolis police said in the court filings. “She stated he also developed a close relationship with her mom so that he would be trusted to take Victim places, and also so Victim could stay after school to babysit his children.”
One day the girl went to Wright’s home to babysit his children, but the kids were not there. That day, according to the court documents, is when Wright began performing sex acts on the girl.
He began sexually assaulting the girl in multiple places, including both of their homes, his classroom and in his car, police said.
“Victim stated this is when she lost her virginity, and that Defendant’s children were in the next room watching a movie when it happened,” according to the statement of probable cause.
The sexual encounters continued for nearly a year until the victim was in 9th grade, police said.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty referred to Wright’s conduct as “harmful and grossly inappropriate.”
Wright received a presumptive sentence of 12 years in prison, but the court could increase it to more than 14 years, officials said.
“Mr. Wright abused his authority, and the trust placed in him as a teacher. The sentence that follows will protect our community and hold him accountable for his actions,” Moriarty said.
When he won the Minnesota Teacher of the Year award in 2016, Wright became the first charter-school teacher and Black man to receive the honor, according to the Minnesota Star-Tribune.
The annual award is given to the teacher who best exemplifies “the type of excellence and dedication that takes place regularly in classrooms” throughout Minnesota.
“Minnesota schools should be the safest place for children in their communities and anything that endangers or harms them, we condemn unequivocally,” the co-chairs of the Minnesota Teacher of the Year program said in a statement to KARE after Wright’s 2024 arrest.
Harvest Best Academy said in a statement to KMSP that Wright last taught at the school in 2021. After that, he taught at St. Louis Park High School until resigning in June 2024.
This story was originally published September 15, 2025 at 5:38 AM with the headline "Former Minnesota Teacher of the Year groomed, assaulted girl, 14, officials say."