Camden’s embattled advisory school board president is resisting calls to resign after a $2 million settlement over sexual abuse allegations against him.
A press conference calling for Wasim Muhammad, 56, to step down from Camden Board of Education’s advisory board was followed by a public meeting Tuesday that dissolved into chaos. Community members excoriated the board president for resuming his position after a months-long leave of absence from the board in the wake of a former student’s accusations that he sexually abused her starting when she was 14.
Gov. Phil Murphy called for Muhammad’s resignation days after NJ Advance Media first reported on the accusations leveled against him in the student’s lawsuit. A spokesperson for the governor reiterated his statement this week.
Theo Spencer, a former board member, said paperwork had been filed for a recall vote to remove Muhammad from the board, an arduous effort that requires the formation of a committee.
Muhammad did not respond to messages left with him Tuesday afternoon and did not respond to the public calls for him to resign at Tuesday’s board meeting. His attorney, Troy Archie, told reporters after the meeting that Muhammad had no intention of stepping down.
The jury’s decision on the civil suit against Muhammad was split, with jurors finding he did not sexually assault the accuser while she was a student, but answering ‘yes’ to questions of whether the district’s and Muhammad’s behavior caused the woman lasting emotional distress. The district paid the woman a $2 million settlement as a result of the split ruling.
About 100 people attended the meeting in the auditorium Tuesday with 36 people signing up to make a public statement. Only about 20 public statements were made by the time the meeting was cut short.
“This board must have lost its soul to endanger our children with somebody you had to pay $2 million for and you expect us to accept that,” attendee Keith Benson said.
Joe Bouvier, an attorney, addressed the board calling Muhammad “an extreme liability risk” to the district after the jury’s decision in May, and told the board its obligation is to do what’s best for the students of Camden.
Jeffrey Fritz, the attorney for the woman who levied the allegations, also addressed the board calling for Muhammad’s immediate resignation.
“It is inconceivable that I am now standing before this advisory board and this superintendent addressing you with Mr. Muhammad continuing as your president,” Fritz said. “Camden deserves better.”
Fritz reiterated that the jury found Muhammad had “recklessly or intentionally committed extreme and outrageous conduct upon (the former student)” that caused her harm.
The former student issued a statement this week, as well, that read in part: “Every day that he remains [Muhammad], you are making a statement that says morality, integrity, and safety are not a necessity for those who serve in the highest administrative roles in Camden City Schools.”
State-appointed superintendent, Katrina McCombs — an alumnus of the Camden public school district herself and someone who openly shared her experience as the victim of sexual abuse as a child at a previous board meeting after Muhammad took a leave from the board — did not respond to the public outcry Tuesday.
She sent a statement Tuesday afternoon prior to the meeting saying her focus is on the upcoming school year.
“While we humbly acknowledge the challenge we presently face, the Camden City School District remains committed to a successful start to the 2024-2025 school year,” she said. “Our top priority is to ensure that students, staff, and families have the resources they need to succeed. We are confident that, together, we can overcome these challenges and create a thriving environment for everyone in our district.”
From the beginning of Tuesday’s meeting, Muhammad was interrupted by boos, shouts and whistles from the public, but tensions reached a boiling point when Chabree Robinson, who identified herself as “a proud wife of” Muhammad, tried to speak on his behalf.
As she spoke, shouts and whistles grew louder and louder before Muhammad and the board tried to stop her from speaking in order to settle the crowd.
During the outburst from the public, and as the board abruptly entered executive session, Muhammad left the stage and escorted a woman out the side door of the auditorium and into a hallway. Just as Muhammad exited the auditorium, another fracas broke out on the other side of the room.
After the board abruptly went into executive session, a large group of community members remained in the auditorium to plan their next course of action to compel Muhammad’s resignation or the board to take action against him.
Ronsha Dickerson from the Camden Parent & Student Union, appealed to the community to continue the pressure on Muhammad and the board when the board’s attorney walked onto the stage to declare that the meeting was adjourned due to lack of a quorum. Board members did not return to the stage and no roll call was taken.
Once the meeting was adjourned, Muhammad could be seen in a hallway adjacent to the auditorium where the public and reporters were restricted from entering. About 30 minutes later, his attorney Troy Archie addressed members of the press while Muhammad stood behind him.
“There’s no legal authority to bar Minister Wasim from serving on the Camden City schools advisory board,” Archie said.
When asked directly if Muhammad would step down, Archie answered “no, he’s not stepping down.”
Muhammad did not answer questions from reporters as he walked away with Archie.
Activists said the movement to remove Muhammad from the board would continue.
“The Camden community and its residents have come together again to send a message to everyone. And that message is Camden residents are fed up and fired up,” Dickerson said at the press conference before the meeting.
Muhammad was accused in a 2021 lawsuit of sexually abusing a former student in 1990s while he was a teacher in Camden.
The plaintiff, who was listed as Jane Doe in court documents but later came forward publicly, accused Muhammad of sexually abusing her for years starting when she was a student in Muhammad’s social studies class at Cooper B. Hatch middle school. Muhammad was known then as Don Walker.
The jury awarded the woman $1.6 million in damages as a result of the trauma they agreed Muhammad caused and the district was negligent in preventing, but did not agree that the evidence proved Muhammad had sex with the woman when she was a student.
An additional $500,000 punitive settlement was reached between the school district and the woman’s attorney.
The district’s insurance carrier covered the $1.6 million in liability for Muhammad and the district, but paid the additional punitive damages out of the district’s operating budget, according a report from the Philadelphia Inquirer. The district also picked up the legal fees for Muhammad, according to the report.
Tuesday was the second time in a week that parents shut down a board meeting with calls for Muhammad to step down. Parents and community members interrupted the board’s work session last Thursday, as well.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported the crowd booed and chanted “shame” as Muhammad took his seat and gaveled the meeting to order.
Muhammad has been a member of the school board since 2013, just before the state took over control of the district in 2014. Muhammad has been board president since 2020 and was unanimously elected by the board to serve another year as board president in January.
Vice President of the board, N’Namdee Nelson, assumed control of board meetings after Muhammad stepped away from the board in January. Nelson did not return messages Tuesday seeking comment.
Muhammad maintained his innocence throughout the duration of the trial in May and testified in court in his own defense. He claimed a relationship he had with her started after she was 18.
He was accused in court documents of giving the former student special attention and pulling her from other classes to spend time with her. The lawsuit also accused Muhammad of taking her to his home in Camden and a motel in Cherry Hill while she was still in middle school to have sex.
When the student and her family moved away in high school, she claimed Muhammad continued pursuing her by traveling to meet with her. When she turned 18, she briefly moved back to Camden and Muhammad claimed in a deposition that she became one of his many religious wives.
Muhammad is a Muslim minister and runs his own religious school at Muhammad’s Temple No. 20 on Haddon Avenue in Camden.
Stories by Matthew Enuco
- N.J. man stabbed his brother in the chest, killing him, authorities say
- N.J. man charged with attempted murder after shooting investigation
- N.J. man accused of shooting someone in the head at a strip club surrenders to police
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
