A middle school teacher in Miami-Dade County was arrested after he was accused of pursuing a romantic relationship with a 13-year-old student, allegedly buying the teen gifts, doing his homework and communicating with him all hours of the day and night.
Mohammed Ahmed, 28, was arrested Monday on charges including child abuse, tampering with a victim, and offenses against students by an authority figure, an arrest report said. He was later released on $22,500 bond.
Ahmed was listed as a social studies teacher at Country Club Middle School in Hialeah. The report said he'd been assigned there for the past four years.
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According to the arrest report, Ahmed pursued a romantic relationship with the 13-year-old male student for four months, from September 2022 to January 2023.
Ahmed allowed the student to miss classes and stay in his office alone with him and allowed him to change into his physical education uniform in his office, the report said.
Ahmed also kept a photo of the student on his desk, gave gifts to the teen including matching bracelets for both of them, and gave him his credit card information, the report said.
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He also threw a birthday party for the teen and wrote the teen letters saying the teen was the "best thing that has ever happened to me," the report said.
When detectives searched Ahmed's phone they found he and the teen communicated at all hours of the day and night on social media and gaming platforms, the report said.
Police said Ahmed repeatedly told the teen he loved him and said they found various conversations between Ahmed and the teen that were sexual in nature, with Ahmed describing how a person should be satisfied sexually.
On one occasion in his locked office, Ahmed told the teen he was hot and took off his shirt, then put the teen's hand on his stomach and forced him to feel his abdominal muscles, the report said.
On another occasion, Ahmed chased the teen around his empty classroom and hugged the teen from behind and started to tickle him, the report said.
Ahmed was removed from the school in January after an investigation began, but police said he still contacted the teen and advised him not to speak with investigators.
Investigators found a former student of Ahmed who said he had acted the same way four years before, buying the student items and touching him while begging the teen not to get back with his girlfriend.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools released a statement saying they are "deeply troubled by the allegations of inappropriate conduct made against this individual."
"The District has initiated employment termination proceedings and will ensure the individual is precluded from seeking future employment with the District," the statement read, in part.
Ahmed was booked into jail and later released on $22,500 bond. Attorney information wasn't available.
Another student, who said Ahmed was his 7th grade civics teacher this year, told NBC6 about what he experienced.
"He was like really friendly to this kid, he used to buy him stuff," the student said. "At some point he bought me stuff too, like homecoming tickets and stuff. But that’s it. I was always cautious with him because my mom always warned me about him because I remember at some point she warned me at night, because there was an activity at school. And she warned me, saying that I should watch out, he seemed suspicious."
