A former teacher at Milwaukee's Salam School is facing multiple felony charges after prosecutors say he sexually assaulted a student starting when she was 14 years old, with the alleged abuse beginning in 2012 and continuing until 2015. Mahmoud Saed, who was 24 when the abuse allegedly began, was formally charged on July 31 with three felonies. The student's mother has also been charged, accused of failing to protect her daughter from the assault.
According to a criminal complaint reported by TMJ4 News, Saed became increasingly touchy with the student before the abuse escalated, buying her expensive gifts and eventually a cellphone that he used both to contact her and to track her whereabouts. The complaint describes several instances of sexual contact between Saed and the girl. Court records cited by the Facebook page Midwest WI/IL Crime Police EMS Fire Incidents show Saed was charged with a Class C felony count of repeated sexual assault of the same child, a Class D felony count of child enticement, and a Class H felony count of sexual assault of a student by school staff, with cash bond initially set at $50,000. He is currently out on bond.
Perhaps the most disturbing detail in the complaint involves the student's mother, who prosecutors say was aware of the situation and actually encouraged Saed to pursue a relationship with her daughter. Per the complaint, the mother intended for Saed and the girl to marry on the girl's 18th birthday. That arrangement never happened — Saed's father is said to have ended the relationship in 2015, according to the complaint. The mother now faces a felony charge of failure to protect a child.
Preliminary Hearing Confirms Case Moving to Trial
At an August 7 preliminary hearing in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, a judge found probable cause to bind Saed over for trial, per court records cited by the same Facebook crime-tracking page. Saed was then arraigned and entered a not-guilty plea through his defense attorney; defense motions to dismiss were argued and denied during that same hearing. The student reported the abuse to authorities 14 years after it allegedly began, according to the complaint, and left her family home around that time.
TMJ4 News reporter Ryan Jenkins visited Saed's home on a Monday seeking comment, but Saed did not respond. Salam School administrators also did not respond to TMJ4's request for comment at the time. Later, according to a report from The Daily News Now!, Salam School and its parent organization, the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, issued public statements affirming a zero-tolerance stance on child abuse while urging the community to let the legal process play out.
A Prominent Local Figure Beyond the Classroom
Saed's ties to Milwaukee extend well past the classroom. He resigned from Salam School, where he had worked as a teacher, and is also known locally as a co-founder of Shawarma House, a Middle Eastern restaurant chain he opened with his brother. According to the Wisconsin Muslim Journal, Saed developed the business plan for Shawarma House during his MBA studies at Cardinal Stritch University before launching the chain with his brothers in 2014, later expanding from Milwaukee's East Side into Brookfield and Greenfield.
Salam School itself carries significant weight in Milwaukee's Muslim community. Founded in 1992 by the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, it was Wisconsin's first full-time Islamic school and now operates as an accredited K-12 college preparatory institution serving more than 1,000 students, according to the school's own FAQ. The school also participates in Wisconsin's school choice voucher program.
Advocates Point to Power Dynamics Behind Delayed Reporting
Samantha Collier, executive director of Team Teal 365 Inc., a group that advocates for sexual assault survivors, told TMJ4 that the authority a teacher holds over a student can create a dangerous power and control dynamic that makes it difficult for victims to come forward. She questioned why it took 14 years for the survivor in this case to feel safe enough to report the abuse, and she called for a deeper examination of the relationship between people who commit assaults and the positions of power they occupy. Collier also cited statistics on how frequently women experience sexual assault and how often they know their abusers, underscoring what she described as a broader pattern rather than an isolated incident.
New State Laws Target Grooming and Reporting Delays
The case arrives as Wisconsin has moved aggressively to tighten rules around school staff conduct and reporting. Under Wisconsin Statute § 948.095(2), sexual assault of a student by school staff is a Class H felony carrying up to six years in prison along with mandatory sex-offender registration, according to the Van Severen Law Office. Separately, 2025 Wisconsin Act 57, enacted in December 2025, now requires schools to notify parents the same day administrators receive a credible report of staff sexual misconduct against a student, per the Wisconsin Legislative Council.
In March, Governor Tony Evers signed 2025 Wisconsin Act 88 into law, creating a standalone Class F felony for grooming by people in positions of trust, including school personnel, according to Boardman Clark. Wisconsin law also allows a parent to be prosecuted separately for failure to protect a child from sexual assault, a standard the Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed in its 2017 State v. Steinhardt decision, treating a guardian's inaction as legally distinct from an abuser's actions.
The charges against Saed also fit into a wider pattern of institutional child sexual assault cases moving through Milwaukee County courts this year. In July, a former Catholic school teacher was sentenced to 21 years in prison, and a former Milwaukee radio executive was charged in August with child sex assault, according to Hoodline's coverage. Local victim advocacy groups have noted growing public awareness around delayed disclosures in cases like these.
