Durham Public Schools is conducting an ongoing investigation into the actions of a school principal and two administrators indicted on felony obstruction of justice charges for their roles in a case involving a six-year-old autistic girl who was allegedly tied to a chair by a teaching assistant at an elementary school, Superintendent Anthony Lewis said Thursday.
Two of the three were also indicted for possible perjury in connection with the incident, which occurred at Eno Valley Elementary School in Nov. 2024.
Law enforcement officials believe the principal and administrators “obstructed the investigation and prosecution” by not responding to records requests in a complete and timely manner. School officials might have also broken the law requiring immediate reporting of suspected child abuse to authorities, law enforcement officials said in court documents.
“As a first step, we are investigating this matter thoroughly because when we’re talking about the safety, the well-being of our scholars, there’s only one path forward, and that is, we must act with urgency, and we must cooperate fully,” Lewis said. “If we fail to do that, we must indeed hold people accountable.”
None of the three accused educators immediately responded to interview requests.
Durham Public Schools Board of Education chair Bettina Umstead and vice-chair Millicent Rogers called the allegations in the indictments “alarming” in a statement released late Thursday.
“We are committed to understanding what occurred and holding individuals accountable where appropriate,” they said..
A grand jury found there is enough evidence to bring criminal charges against Eno Valley Elementary Principal Tounya Wright, Durham Public Schools senior executive director of employee relations Ayesha Hunter, and Tanya Giovanni, deputy superintendent of administration.
All three have been suspended with pay pending the outcome of the district’s investigation, Lewis said.
The superintendent made his remarks during a Thursday morning press conference at which he read from a prepared statement. He didn’t take questions, citing “confidential personnel matters” and an “ongoing investigation.”
The district’s investigation is being conducted by Tharrington Smith LLP, a Raleigh-based law firm that represents the district. The investigation is separate from any being conducted by law enforcement officials, Lewis said. There is no deadline for completion of the investigation, he said.
In response to the indictment and investigation, the district is taking steps to establish systems to standardize how it logs and stores legal documents, how it manages and creates investigative files and how it notifies its legal counsel of requests for records, Lewis said.
He also spoke about establishing “regular communications” with the Durham County District Attorney’s office to strengthen its partnership and relationship and to ensure the district is “fully cooperating with investigative efforts.” The district has a meeting scheduled with an assistant district attorney next week.
Annual training around child abuse will be enhanced and a “little more robust” than in past years, Lewis said.
“This is beginning with immediate retraining for our principles and administrators,” Lewis said. “We’re also providing retraining to our exceptional children’s staff, administrators and others to reinforce expectations when it comes to physical contact and restraint.”
Durham Police named two former Eno Valley Elementary School teaching assistants in a December 2025 search warrant that allowed Durham Police to search the school district’s central office and digital records. Charges were filed against only one of them in connection with the alleged abuse of the six-year-old autistic girl, but those charges were dismissed by the Durham District Attorney’s office in November.
Meanwhile, Wright, the school principal, was indicted on three potential charges of felony obstruction of justice and one potential charge of perjury. Hunter potentially faces six charges of felony obstruction of justice and two charges of perjury. Giovanni was indicted on five counts of felony obstruction of justice.
Court records show Giovanni had a court appearance Wednesday and bond was set at $10,000. Hunter and Wright were arrested this week and court records show each posted bonds of $5,000.
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