MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A brave teenage boy stood near his parents on Wednesday afternoon to talk about his nightmarish experience with one of his teachers in northeastern Miami-Dade County’s Country Club community.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the 13-year-old Country Club Middle School student said that he wanted to share his story to raise awareness, so others wouldn’t have to endure abuse.
Detectives arrested his 28-year-old teacher on Monday describing his behavior as that of a child sexual predator who was eager to earn his student’s trust and affection before harassing him.
“I don’t want to see him ever again in my life,” the teen said.
A judge ordered Mohammed Hamza Ahmed in bond court to stay away from him before corrections officers released him from jail. The victim said that at first, he perceived Ahmed as “a cool teacher,” but that changed.
“He would tell me to not say any of this to my parents,” the teen said.
Ahmed would secretly allow him to skip other classes and stay in his office, the teenage boy said. He shared a photo that he took with other students eating fast food near Ahmed.
“Everything was normal until he started getting a little bit more comfortable and stuff,” the teen said.
His anecdotes indicate there was a dangerous shift late last year that involved obsessive behavior. The boy said that when he wasn’t around Ahmed in school, he contacted him regularly.
“He would start sending messages: ‘I love you’ and stuff like that,” the boy said. “He made me feel really uncomfortable.”
The boy provided examples of the text messages that he showed detectives. He reported Ahmed wrote to him when he missed school after his parents allowed him to stay home sick.
“Let me know what the doctor says, love you,” Ahmed allegedly wrote with a heart emoji. In another text message, Ahmed also allegedly wrote, “I hope you get better soon! I’ll try to call you later today. love you!”
The teenage boy said Ahmed also bought him gifts and he thought it was really strange that he had decided to place a selfie that he had taken with him as the backdrop of his cell phone.
“When I found out that he liked me and stuff, I was very freaked out,” the boy said. “I was low-key sad because I thought he was a cool teacher.”
Ahmed went from referring to the teenage boy as a “brother” in a handwritten birthday card to making secret romantic and sexual propositions, according to police.
“He started talking to, you know, some sexual stuff, so I had to tell my mom,” the teenage boy said adding that other students found out and started to bully him at school.
The boy’s parents decided to report Ahmed. In January, the school principal told Ahmed that he was being removed from the school because there was an ongoing investigation.
The boy said he was eager to continue with his education without disruptions, and he also had some valuable advice for other students who may find themselves in a similar situation: “Watch out! Be careful who you trust, and always tell your parents stuff.”
Miami-Dade Public Schools trusted Ahmed to care for children for years. He reported on LinkedIn that he had volunteered to tutor Felix Varela Senior High School students in Advanced Placement World History from 2010-14, he started working for MDCPS in 2018, and he worked as an exceptional student education teacher.
Ahmed also reported being fluid in Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, earning a political science degree at Florida International University, a master’s degree in political management at George Washington University, and attending St. Thomas University as a graduate student in education.
Miami-Dade County records show Ahmed was facing charges of an authority figure engaging in sexual contact with a student, a second-degree felony; tampering with a witness party to a second-degree felony, a first-degree felony; and child abuse with no great bodily harm, a third-degree felony.
Detectives were asking anyone with information about the case or other victims to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.
Learn about warning signs
Here is a list of warning signs that may indicate an adult is behaving like a child sexual predator:
- The adult is ignoring social, emotional, or physical boundaries or limits, therefore making others feel uncomfortable.
- The adult is ignoring limits set by the students or keeping the students from setting a limit, especially while using teasing or belittling language in the process.
- The adult insists on physical contact such as hugging, touching, kissing, tickling, wrestling, or holding even when the student rejects it.
- The adult turns to a student for emotional or physical comfort by sharing personal or private information or activities that are normally shared with adults.
- The adult frequently points out sexual images or tells inappropriate or suggestive jokes with students present.
- The adult repeatedly exposes a student to adult sexual interactions.
- The adult has “secret” interactions with students such as engaging in games, e-mails, text messages, and calls, and shares “secret” gifts such as drugs, alcohol, or sexual material.
- The adult is overly interested in the sexuality of a student by engaging in conversations about their body and teenage dating.
- The adult spends unusual amounts of uninterrupted isolated time alone with a student.
- The adult seems too available or overindulgent with babysitting for free, taking the student on special outings alone, or buying them gifts, or giving them money for no apparent reason.
- The adult is frequently walking in on the students in the bathroom.
- The adult allows students to consistently get away with inappropriate behaviors.
- The adult’s only friends are minors or very few age-equivalent adult friends.
- The adult’s age-equivalent friends exhibit similar behaviors as listed above.
Here is a list of warning signs that may indicate a student is the victim of sexual abuse:
- The student reports experiencing nightmares or other sleep problems without an explanation
- The student seems distracted or distant at odd times
- The student displays changes in appetite
- The student is exhibiting sudden mood swings such as rage, fear, insecurity, or withdrawal
- The student leaves “clues” that are likely to provoke a discussion about sexual issues
- The student displays new or unusual fear of certain people or places
- The student refuses to talk about a secret shared with an adult or older child.
- The student writes, draws, plays, or dreams of sexual or frightening images.
- The student talks about a new older friend
- The student suddenly has money, toys, or other gifts without reason.
- The student thinks of self or body as repulsive, dirty, or bad.
- The student exhibits new adult-like sexual behaviors, language, and knowledge.
- The student reports physical signs of sexual abuse such as pain, bleeding, discharge, or other physical trauma such as infections or sexually transmitted diseases. Some of the symptoms could be persistent or recurring pain during urination or bowel movements, or wetting or soiling accidents unrelated to toilet training, or trouble swallowing.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice