Woman in civil sex assault case against Camden school board president comes forward: ‘I want people to see my face’

When the woman filed a blockbuster civil lawsuit accusing Wasim Muhammad, a top Camden school official, of sexually assaulting her when he was her teacher 30 years ago, she wanted to make her 14-year-old self proud.

For three years, she was identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, her name never publicly spoken — until now.

A week after reaching a $2 million settlement with the Camden School District and Muhammad, the Camden School Advisory Board president, Salema Hicks Robinson disclosed her name in an interview with The Inquirer. Previously, she had not been identified because The Inquirer does not identify victims in sexual assault cases without their consent.

“I feel brave ... in saying my name,” she said. “I want people to see my face because I look like women in this community ... hearing my voice, seeing my face as a person, a woman, a mother, a grandmother, a friend that somehow people will see the tangible nature of what happened to me.”

» READ MORE: A former student has alleged sexual abuse for years by current Camden Advisory School Board president

A six-member jury in May said Muhammad “recklessly or intentionally committed extreme and outrageous conduct” upon Robinson, but rejected her sexual assault and battery allegations against the prominent community activist and Muslim minister. The jury awarded her $1.6 million, though, which was increased to $2 million under a later settlement between her, Muhammad and the district.

Muhammad, 56, has denied any wrongdoing. Lawyers for Muhammad and the school district accepted no liability in reaching the settlement, which negated the punitive portion of the case.

Married and the mother of three, Robinson, 45, said she decided to reveal her identity with the hope that it would encourage other child sex-abuse victims to consider coming forward. She suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, had marital problems, and has had trouble sleeping for years, her psychologist testified.

“It is my desire that people feel inspired to come forward with the truth of things that have happened to them,” she said. “I am not the most courageous person. All I did was take one small step incrementally to get me to this point of accountability.”

» READ MORE: These are the depositions in the Wasim Muhammad case

Experts say child abuse victims are often unable to disclose the trauma they experienced until an older age. Robinson filed the lawsuit in 2021 under a state law passed in 2019 that allows victims of child sexual abuse to sue their abusers up until they turn 55. She tried to lodge criminal charges in 2020, but the statute of limitations had expired.

“I waited so long because I was very ashamed of what happened to me. And I felt very embarrassed,” Robinson said. “I didn’t even know that there was something that I could do about it.”

New Jersey is among about a dozen states that have adopted laws making it easier for child sexual abuse victims to seek justice in civil court years after the abuse occurred. A bill that would implement similar changes in Pennsylvania has stalled in the legislature.

“I think she was incredibly brave,” said Renée Williams, executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime. “Every time a survivor comes forward we need to celebrate that.”

The 18-page lawsuit accused Muhammad — known as Donnie Walker when he was a teacher — of sexually abusing Robinson for years, beginning in 1994 when she was an eighth grader at Cooper B. Hatch Middle School. She alleged he groomed her for the abuse by singling her out for special attention, telling her she was smart and pretty.

» READ MORE: Some were confused by the verdict in the Wasim Muhammad sex abuse case. Here are some questions answered.

Robinson said the abuse continued even after she moved out of state after her freshman year at Camden High School. District employees, including a principal and a teacher, who knew about it failed to stop it, according to the lawsuit.

Although the jury rejected the allegation that Robinson was sexually assaulted when she was a minor, the jury held Muhammad and the district liable for counts including “willful misconduct” and negligence in supervising Muhammad, and for permitting “a sexually hostile educational environment.” The verdict did not offer insight into its findings.

Salema Hicks Robinson was born on Jan. 5, 1979, and grew up in Camden. One of four children, she was raised Muslim and regularly wore a hijab. The family observed some Muslim holidays, but didn’t strictly follow the religion’s practices, she said.

As a teenager, she enjoyed singing, dancing and hanging out with her friends. She enrolled at Hatch in 1991. Like many of her peers, Robinson said she had a crush on Muhammad, a former Camden High School basketball standout who played on the 1986 undefeated championship team. He was her seventh-grade social studies teacher.

“He was like a superstar in school,” recalled Robinson. “Even the guys there thought he was cool.”

According to Robinson, her relationship with Muhammad included engaging in a threesome with one of his many wives. During the trial, Muhammad said he is legally married to his childhood sweetheart in addition to four spiritual wives.

» READ MORE: In his sex abuse trial, Wasim Muhammad testified that four of his six wives were 18 when he met them

Robinson said sitting through the graphic and emotional testimony was difficult. Deeply spiritual and now a Seventh Day Adventist, Robinson said she relied upon her strong faith to get through it.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” she said. “I just felt like I couldn’t take it.”

In the end, Robinson said she believed her inner child would be proud of her for speaking out. “I did what I had to do.”

The trial was her lawyer Jeffrey P. Fritz’s first under the new child sexual abuse law. He plans to lobby Pennsylvania and other states to make it easier for young victims to seek justice in civil courts years after the abuse occurred.

Fritz said he also plans to push for Muhammad’s removal from the advisory board. Muhammad took a leave of absence in January after Gov. Phil Murphy called for his resignation.

“We are not done until he is off that board,” said Fritz, who represented several sex abuse victims of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

Robinson, who lives in the South with her husband, Terrance, and children, returned to Camden two weeks ago to make a personal appeal to the school advisory board to oust Muhammad. The meeting was canceled because of a lack of a quorum.

While in Camden, Robinson stopped at Hatch, which was closed and turned over to a Renaissance school operator. Her eyes filled with tears as she was overwhelmed by good and bad memories. She was the third generation in her family to attend Hatch.

“I feel nostalgic, but I never ever want to stand in this space again. I never want to come back here,” she said. “I lost my girlhood at this school. I was forever changed.”

A first-grade teacher in Atlanta, Robinson said the visit brought closure and she feels vindicated by the outcome of the case. She plans to advocate for schools to implement better procedures for teachers to report suspected abuse.

“I want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else again,” she said. “What was taken from me can never be given back. What was taken was my innocence, my hope, my peace of mind.”