A former Minnesota Teacher of the Year has been found guilty this week following a bench trial on one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for repeatedly raping and sexually abusing a student over the course of a year who was 14 and in 8th grade at the time.
Abdul Jameel Wright (aka AB Wright), 39, of Brooklyn Park, was named 2016 Minnesota Teacher of the Year while employed at Harvest Best Academy Charter School in north Minneapolis.
According to the original charges and testimony in the trial, just months later, Wright began sexually “grooming” the child, who was his English Language Arts student at the time, and Wright was 30 years old.
The multiple forms of sexual abuse began after the two exchanged phone numbers and took place at the school, in Wright’s vehicle, and at his residence, where he lived in the basement of a family in north Minneapolis at the time.
The incidents began coming to light in 2017 when the child’s parent discovered phone records showing hundreds of calls and text messages between the child and Wright. The abuse was formally reported to police in 2024 when Wright was employed at St. Louis Park High School, after which he was placed on leave.
The parent of the child, who is now an adult, confronted Wright in two phone conversations in May 2024 that were being recorded, in which Wright admitted to having sexual intercourse with the child on multiple occasions in the spring and summer of 2017.
MPR reported that the child’s grandmother said she made police reports in 2017 that apparently went nowhere. A court document states that the child’s father filed for a restraining order in 2017 to keep Wright away from the child, but came to a settlement agreement that Wright would only contact the child for school purposes.
Wright was taken into custody following the verdict, and he remains in Hennepin County Jail at this time. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 8, 2025, and Wright could face up to 12 to 14 years in prison, according to the sentencing guidelines.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
