Charges Against Maplewood School Principal Dropped, Court Tosses Suit

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A superior court judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit against three supporters of a North Jersey school principal, who was accused of assaulting a student and arrested – but later cleared of the charges.

Frank Sanchez, a principal at Columbia High School in Maplewood – which also serves students from South Orange – was accused of grabbing a student and pushing her against a wall in March 2023. However, other people claimed that Sanchez was actually trying to prevent a fight on the school's campus and was “railroaded” in the criminal justice system.

Last year, an Essex County grand jury declined to indict Sanchez on a charge of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. See Related: One Charge Dropped For NJ Principal Accused Of Assaulting Student

Another charge related to the incident – simple assault – was referred to the Maplewood Municipal Court, which dismissed it on April 17.

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 dubbed themselves the “Friends of Frank.” The group organized a fundraising campaign in his name that raised more than $72,000 for legal expenses and other needs.

The group accused a then-South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education member of “unethically” leaking a “flawed draft report” that contributed to the charges against Sanchez, and alleged that the local police department failed to properly investigate the case – which was then wrongly prosecuted on the county level.

The former board member – who said she filed the report because she is a mandatory reporter – filed a defamation suit against several members of the group in December. It was dismissed with prejudice in its entirety on April 25.

“We’re just gratified that, as in Frank’s case, there is a just outcome for something that never should have happened in the first place,” said three of the women named in the defamation lawsuit.

“We hope this decision sends a message that, in our community, any effort to use the legal system to punish people for voicing their opinions will fail,” they added.

Law counsel for the women said they are now preparing a motion for an award of attorneys’ fees under New Jersey’s Anti-SLAPP law.

Sanchez has been reinstated to his job as principal.

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