Charge Dropped For NJ Principal Accused Of Assaulting Student

SOUTH ORANGE-MAPLEWOOD, NJ — A principal accused of assaulting a student in the South Orange-Maplewood Public School District is off the hook for one of the charges – but another still remains pending, prosecutors announced Thursday.

An Essex County grand jury has declined to indict Frank Sanchez on a charge of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. He still faces a charge of simple assault, a disorderly persons offense that wasn’t subject to the purview of the grand jury. That charge will be addressed at an upcoming court date, prosecutors said.

“There is no further comment at this time,” a spokesperson with the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said.

Sanchez, a principal at Columbia High School in Maplewood, was arrested in March and accused of grabbing a student and pushing her against a wall. However, other people claim that Sanchez was actually trying to prevent a fight on the school's campus and is being “railroaded” in the criminal justice system.

According to a complaint obtained by Patch, the school district reported the March 2023 incident to police in December after acting South Orange-Maplewood Superintendent Kevin Gilbert filed an affirmative action report and hired an outside investigator to look into the alleged assault.

According to the complaint, Sanchez made physical contact with a female Columbia High School student that included “pushing, shoving or grabbing." Video cited in the complaint said Sanchez grabbed her arm twice and pulled her toward a staircase. The pair also fell through a door as Sanchez held her against a wall.

In addition to the video, another student who witnessed the incident told investigators he saw Sanchez "put his hands on (the girl) for no reason," according to the complaint.

Following the incident, the girl told prosecutors the contact left her with bruising, the complaint stated.

Sanchez, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, was placed on paid leave from his position as principal. The district appointed a new interim principal in April.

It’s unclear what the jury’s decision currently means for Sanchez’s employment.

Some community activists applauded authorities for filing charges against Sanchez. When Sanchez was arrested, advocacy group SOMA Black Parents Workshop wrote that the “history of abuse of Black children in this school district is inconceivable.”

But others stood up for the accused principal, including an “ad hoc, multi-racial committee of mothers led by Black women” who have dubbed themselves the “Friends of Frank.”

The group claims that Sanchez – a principal with 15 years of experience – was trying to de-escalate a tense situation between two students. He registered the incident to the New Jersey Division of Child Protection & Permanency that day, which found no substantive cause to investigate, they say.

Pointing to an online fundraising campaign that has netted more than $72,000 to aid Sanchez as of Thursday, the group put out a statement about the jury’s decision on Thursday.

“Friends of Frank said from the beginning that Frank should be exonerated,” organizers wrote. “We are gratified that the grand jury agreed that the case against him was without merit. We thank the community members who joined together to donate needed funds and make our voices heard in a unified cry for justice–for Frank, for all students, and for public education.”

The group continued:

“Until this correct grand jury decision, this case had been a travesty. It began with the exploitation of a minor, who had been led astray by people with a self-serving agenda. It continued with an unethical action by a BOE member (leaking a flawed draft report) and a shirking of responsibility by our local police department (which overstepped by taking on the case, then failed to properly investigate). It landed in the Essex County Prosecutor’s office, which then wrongly used its power to pursue a criminal case that had been trumped up. This case has damaged a venerated public high school, thrown a community into turmoil, and threatened a good person’s liberty. Perhaps most importantly, it has done nothing to support students, including the accuser.”

Others remain unconvinced by the jury’s decision, however.

The SOMA Black Parents Workshop also posted a statement about the non-indictment on Thursday, writing that its members were “disappointed” – but will respect the criminal justice system and the decision of the jury.

“The grand jury did not believe that the altercation rose to the level of second-degree criminal assault,” the group wrote in a statement. “This is why there are two sides to the law – criminal and civil – and we do not accept the grand jury as the last word in the pursuit of justice for this student.”

The group continued:

“There is a history and continued pattern in this nation of discounting the voices of Black children, and adultifying them to minimize their humanity. Despite this history and the obvious bias Black children face, it is our intention to always stand with them; even against the chorus of ignorant adults – black and white.”

“While some in the community have attempted to paint Mr. Sanchez as a victim, the real victim here is a young woman and the dignity of any Black student in the South Orange-Maplewood School District who dare come forward to protest their mistreatment,” Black Parents Workshop Founder Walter Fields stated.

“The grand jury decision is not a period at the end of a sentence, it is simply a comma with more to come,” Fields added. “And there is more to come.”

The district's acting superintendent also issued a statement in the wake of Thursday's court announcement.

"The grand jury’s decision is welcome news to the many families and students who have been looking forward to welcoming Frank Sanchez back to Columbia High School and the South Orange and Maplewood School District community," Kevin Gilbert said.

"As I have previously stated, this has been a long ordeal that has deeply impacted a dedicated principal, husband, and father; and it has also profoundly affected one of our students – a child of one of the families we served, who was in our care and did not feel cared for," Gilbert continued.

"It is my hope that all of us take from the past few months a renewed sense of our tremendous responsibilities and the resolve to be as good as we possibly can be to each other for the sake of our students, their families, and the entire community," the superintendent added.

This article contains reporting from Megan VerHelst, Patch staff

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