Camden’s school district and its school board President Wasim Muhammad were found liable by a jury for $1.6 million in civil damages in a mixed verdict in the lawsuit filed by a woman who accused him of sexual abuse from the time she was a pre-teen at Cooper B. Hatch Middle School.
The jury’s verdict last week, however, led both sides to claim victory.
Muhammad, now 56, never denied that he had sex with his former student, a woman he met when she was in 7th grade in the 1990s.
But Muhammad said he didn’t start pursuing the woman as one of his “spiritual wives” until after she turned 18.
The jury ruled Muhammad, a former teacher, had not sexually abused her, but the jurors agreed with the woman that Muhammad and the district acted in a way that caused her lasting emotional distress and awarded her $1.6 million.
“This case has always been about sexual abuse of a minor and this jury came back and found that it didn’t occur,” Brian Budic, the Camden City School District’s attorney, said on Friday. “At the end of the day this jury did not find Mr. Muhammad sexually assaulted the plaintiff in this case.”
Budic said the district will likely file a motion for a new trial and is considering an appeal on some of the jury’s findings.
On a multi-question verdict sheet in which the jury was asked to answer yes or no, the jury answered no to questions of assault, battery and child sexual abuse claims. The jury answered yes to a question that asked whether it believed Muhammad “recklessly or intentionally committed extreme and outrageous conduct” on the woman that caused harm to her.
According to a verdict sheet provided by Muhammad’s attorney at a press conference last week, the jury also decided in a split vote, 5-to-1, that the district and Muhammad acted in a way that violated the woman’s rights, that Muhammad committed “extreme and outrageous conduct,” engaged in willful misconduct that harmed the woman and that the district was negligent.
Juror number five voted no on every question. The jury decided that the district carried 60% of the liability while Muhammad should be responsible for the remaining 40%. Despite the split, the district would need to pay the full sum, attorneys in the case said.
The woman filed the lawsuit in 2021 after Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation opening a two-year window for alleged victims of child sexual abuse to file civil claims. She told the Philadelphia Inquirer she tried to file criminal charges but was told the statute of limitations had expired.
Muhammad, known as Don Walker when he was a middle school teacher in the 1990s in Camden, was accused by the woman of showering her with attention and having sex with her when she was a student. She alleged Walker took her to the Feather Nest Inn in Cherry Hill and to his home in Camden to have sex, sometimes during the school day, and that at least one school employee knew something inappropriate was going on.
She claimed the sexual abuse started in 1994 when she was a seventh grader and he was a middle school teacher and continued through at least 1997, before she and her family moved to the south. She alleged in court documents that Muhammad traveled to visit her, where he continued to assault her. Muhammad allegedly persuaded the plaintiff to move back to Camden when she graduated from high school and she briefly moved in with him.
Muhammad claimed in depositions and in court that the woman became his “spiritual wife” when she turned 18 years old, a practice he attributed to his Muslim faith. Muhammad said Tuesday afternoon at a press conference at Muhammad’s Temple No. 20 in Camden that it was no secret he had many spiritual wives and one legal wife.
Muhammad and his attorney, Troy Archie, said the jury’s verdict exonerated him of the accusations leveled by the woman in her civil suit.
“Minister Wasim has been under attack for the past several years and I think, based on our presentation and the facts in this case, that the jury understood it and they found that he was not liable for any sexual claims,” Archie said.
Muhammad and Archie plan to appeal some of the jury’s decisions, agreeing with Budic that the entire case rested on whether Muhammad violated the Child Sexual Abuse Act.
“They did award for emotional distress, but I don’t know how they came to that conclusion,” Archie said of the jury’s full decision. “Based on my legal understanding, this is an inconsistent verdict and it is a verdict that will be appealed because the underlying charges are the claims that she made.”
The woman’s attorney, Jeff Fritz ,said Wednesday that in a civil case, each question the jury was asked to answer stood on its own and could be considered individually, which resulted in the seemingly mixed verdict.
The woman, Fritz said, still felt vindicated by the jury’s decision. He released a statement on her behalf expressing gratitude to the jury.
“I am grateful that the jury believed me and that both Mr. Muhammad and the Camden City School District have been finally held accountable,” the woman said in the statement. “It has been an arduous and extremely emotional journey for me to come forward. It is my hope that the jury’s decision will make schools safer for children against sexual abuse, both in Camden and throughout New Jersey.”
Muhammad, who has served as president of the Camden City Advisory School Board and was re-elected by the full board to serve as president in January, declined to say whether he would resign from the board after the conclusion of the trial.
He had taken a “leave of absence” from the board in January after the allegations became public and Gov. Murphy called for his resignation.
The Camden City School district has been under state control since 2013, but locals in 2018 wrestled back the ability to elect school board members, albeit in an advisory capacity and with little authority to make decisions.
School boards have few mechanisms to remove a publicly elected board member. State appointed Superintendent Katrina McCombs said in January that board members could be removed after missing three consecutive meetings without good cause.
Muhammad has missed every board meeting since January. The district did not respond to questions asking if the Muhammad has been or will be removed from his position.
Muhammad did not say whether he would resign. “That is something that we will determine in the future,” he said.
Fritz said Wednesday that it is very concerning to have a person who was accused of sexual contact with a student while teaching in the district serve on the very board overseeing the school system.
“The jury’s decision is a powerful statement that schools must always prioritize the safety and well-being of their students,” Fritz said in a statement. “My client showed bravery and tenacity in coming forward and standing up for her 13-year-old self. It is our hope that the Camden City School District finally terminates Mr. Muhammad as the school advisory board president as was called for by Governor Murphy months ago.”
Murphy’s office declined to comment Thursday beyond its statement from January calling for Muhammad to step down.
A state Department of Education spokesperson said Monday that the agency does not comment on ongoing litigation.
The jury’s decision to award $1.6 million to the woman exceeds the $1 million settlement recommendation by an arbitrator in August.
Budic, Camden’s attorney, said Friday the district has always had the best interests of students and families at heart.
“This district has always acted in the best interests of the students and families and will continue to do so,” he said.
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Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X
