A grand jury has issued felony indictments against a Durham Public Schools principal and two administrators for obstruction of justice in connection with an alleged child abuse case at an elementary school. Two of the three were also indicted on charges of suspected perjury. 

All three were suspended with pay Dec. 19 pending the outcome of Durham Public Schools’ review of the case, DPS Superintendent Anthony Lewis said in a statement Wednesday.

The case involved a 6-year-old autistic girl at Eno Valley Elementary School who is referred to as D.G.M. in court documents. The child was allegedly tied to a chair by a teaching assistant in November 2024. 

According to court documents, a Spanish-speaking custodian photographed the student tied to the chair and shared the photograph with a Spanish-speaking teacher. The teacher shared it with the school’s secretary, who slipped a copy under Principal Tounya Wright’s door.

It was unclear from court records Wednesday whether the teaching assistant accused of tying the student to a chair has been charged with a crime. 

Two teaching assistants were named 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 but dismissed by the Durham District Attorney’s office in November. 

The grand jury found there is enough evidence to bring criminal charges against Wright, the principal; Ayesha Hunter, senior executive director of employee relations for Durham Public Schools; and Tanya Giovanni, deputy superintendent of administration. They’re accused of obstructing the “investigation and prosecution” of the child abuse incident involving the 6 year old.

According to court documents, one or more of the individuals “knowingly provided false or misleading information statements under oath” during Durham Police Department’s investigation of the incident.  

“The evidence further demonstrates that there were significant delays and inconsistencies in the timeline for reporting the incident to law enforcement and other authorities, contrary to statutory requirements for immediate reporting of suspected child abuse,” according to the search warrant.

In his statement, the superintendent said because the case involves personnel issues and ongoing legal proceedings, there are limits on what he can share publicly.

“What I can say clearly is this: protecting students is our highest responsibility, and it guides every decision we make,” Lewis said. “Any concern involving student safety must be handled with urgency, care and full cooperation.”

Wright was indicted on three potential charges of felony obstruction of justice and one potential charge of perjury. Meanwhile, 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 have arraignments scheduled for Feb. 5, according to court records. 

Comments