Inset: Tanya Giovanni (Durham Public Schools). Background: Eno Valley Elementary School in Durham, N.C. (WNCN).
A North Carolina deputy superintendent in charge of legal and compliance has been indicted for allegedly misleading cops who were investigating a teacher”s aide tying a 6-year-old girl with autism to a chair with a jump rope.
Tanya Janique Giovanni, who served as the deputy superintendent for administrative, legal and compliance service for Durham schools, was indicted this week on six charges of felony obstruction of justice. She is accused of trying to “obstruct, impede, or hinder public or legal justice into an investigation of child abuse of minor involving the abuse of minor child that was tied to chair at Eno Valley Elementary school, as depicted in still photograph.”
The school administrator was allegedly in possession of a statement about the incident from the school principal that she did not disclose to cops, and prevented another school employee from answering questions by law enforcement looking into the matter. She also allegedly denied there was an investigative file looking into the incident and claimed to have looked into every email of a retired school employee that had ties to the investigation.
“This offense was done with deceit and intent to defraud, and in secrecy and malice, and was infamous,” the indictment reads.
Giovanni was previously indicted earlier this year on obstruction charges. This indictment adds more counts.
Giovanni was hired into the role in October 2024. She has since been removed from her job.
As Law&Crime previously reported, the principal at Eno Valley, Tounya Wright, was also indicted on three counts of obstructing justice and one count of perjury.
The investigation centered on photos Wright received in November 2024 that depicted the girl tied to the chair at Eno Valley Elementary School in Durham.
Cops allege Wright lied about how she received the photos and who took them. According to a warrant, Wright initially told cops she received the photos after someone anonymously slipped them under the door. This wasn’t true, and Wright, along with other administrators, participated in a “coordinated effort to deflect liability,” the warrant stated.
In fact, authorities say, a janitor secretly snapped the photos and sent them to a secretary who then texted them to Wright. Cops also say Wright lied about when she received the photos. She actually received them days earlier. In North Carolina, school staff must immediately contact law enforcement when informed of potential child abuse.
Two teachers’ aides allegedly involved in the incident resigned in December 2024. One was arrested for child abuse and other charges. But cops later interviewed the janitor who took the photos, and she said the arrested aide was not at school on the day she took the photos. This led investigators to believe the aide could have been wrongfully accused. Prosecutors dropped the case in November.
The indictment says Wright’s actions were “done with deceit and intent to defraud, and in secrecy and malice.”
“In summary, Principal Wright’s credibility is undermined by her shifting explanations regarding how she received the incriminating photo of the victim, the timing and method of her reporting the incident to Human Resources and law enforcement, and her knowledge of the source of the photo,” police wrote in the warrant. “Her accounts conflict not only with each other but also with testimony and documentation from other witnesses, particularly regarding the chain of custody for the photo and the identity of the initial reporter.”
Ayesha Hunter, senior executive director of employee relations, also was indicted on obstruction charges.
Wright resigned as principal, local NBC affiliate WRAL reported. Wright’s attorney denied wrongdoing in a statement to the TV station.
“Dr. Wright is innocent of any criminal wrongdoing in this incident and looks forward to her day in court so that she may finally be exonerated of these baseless charges,” the statement said. “Once apprised of the situation with the child, she communicated with the teachers’ assistants involved and reported the same to DPS as she is required. She has no knowledge of DPS’ internal motivations that led to the new charges. She has spent her entire career educating and advocating for the children of Durham County and anyone that knows her knows the charges against her are ridiculously bogus.”
