Teacher accused of pulling hijab from student’s head won’t face charges, prosecutor says – NJ.com

The South-Orange-Maplewood School District teacher who was accused of pulling the hijab off a Muslim student’s head – a charge the woman has denied – won’t face criminal charges, authorities said Wednesday.

Tamar Herman, an elementary school teacher at Seth Boyden Elementary School, was alleged to have forcibly removed a girl’s hijab during class on Oct. 6, 2021. The incident was reported to local police who forwarded the information to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, which investigates bias crimes.

“The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office has concluded that there is insufficient evidence to sustain a criminal prosecution in this case,” Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II said in a statement.

Stephens said the decision was based on a “full investigation and a thorough review of all available evidence and the applicable law.”

“While we understand that many may find the incident troubling, as prosecutors we have a legal and moral obligation to only bring charges in cases where we believe we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime has been committed,” Stephens said. “For those reasons, we will not move forward with this case.”

Robert Tarver, a Toms River attorney who represents the student and her family, said he was not surprised by the prosecutor’s decision.

“As a former prosecutor myself, I never anticipated that there would be a criminal prosecution in the case,” Tarver told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday. “That requires a different standard.”

However, Tarver said he is prepared to file a lawsuit against the district, claiming that his staff has documented “a full litany of incidents” involving Herman dating back to 2017.

“Our position is we will move forward to hold this individual accountable for her actions,” he said.

Samantha Harris, one of the attorneys representing Herman, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Last October, Harris told NJ Advance Media that Herman never tried to remove a hijab from the student’s head.

“In accordance with school policy, Ms. Herman directed a student in her class to pull down the hood on a hooded sweatshirt because it was blocking her eyes – and immediately rescinded that request when she realized that the student was wearing the hood in place of, rather than on top of, her usual hijab,” Harris said.

Harris said the allegations caused considerable harm to Herman’s reputation, adding the teacher had devoted 30 years to the children attending school in the district.

The incident came to light after Ibtihaj Muhammad, a 2016 Olympic medalist in fencing and a Maplewood resident, wrote on her social media accounts on Oct. 7 that Herman had “forcibly removed the hijab of a second-grade student.”

The incident caused an uproar in the Essex County community, with hundreds of people signing a Change.org petition calling for Herman’s firing.

District officials were not immediately available to comment Wednesday and Herman’s status with the school was not clear.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.