{"id":566,"date":"2026-05-19T23:35:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T23:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=566"},"modified":"2026-05-19T23:35:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T23:35:31","slug":"former-durham-school-official-faces-new-charge-in-alleged-child-abuse-cover-up-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=566","title":{"rendered":"Former Durham school official faces new charge in alleged, child abuse cover-up case"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

A former Durham Public Schools official was indicted again Monday and now faces an additional charge in an allegedly improperly handled child abuse investigation.<\/p>\n

Read more NC Republicans advance new constitutional amendments to strip governor\u2019s power<\/a><\/p>\n

Tanya Giovanni, 55, of Raleigh was arrested in January on five charges of obstructing justice, The News & Observer previously reported<\/a>. Giovanni, the school system\u2019s chief of staff and deputy superintendent for administrative, legal and compliance services, is accused of delaying an investigation by Durham police into allegations an Eno Valley Elementary School teaching assistant tied a student with autism to a chair.<\/p>\n

Giovanni and two others \u2014 Eno Valley\u2019s principal, Tounya Wright, and senior executive director of employee relations Ayesha Hunter \u2014 were all indicted in January. Their cases remained pending in Durham County Superior Court as of Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n

The indictment filed Monday against Giovanni adds another count of felony obstruction of justice, newly alleging that she told a human resources employee Dec. 19 that the employee could not interview Wright \u201cto prevent the staff member from creating a statement that could [sic] obtained by law enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Court documents don\u2019t indicate whether Giovanni will be rearrested to reflect the additional charge. She\u2019d previously posted a $10,000 secured bond, but failed to show up to court last month when her attorney filed a motion to withdraw from the case, court records indicate.<\/p>\n

Should Giovanni appear late or fail to appear for another court hearing, she could face an order for her arrest, Judge Brian C. Wilks wrote in an April 20 court document.<\/p>\n

Giovanni is a lawyer herself and has held an active license with the North Carolina State Bar since February 2011, state records show. She was fired from her position in March.<\/p>\n

Read more A Raleigh fine dining restaurant abruptly closed. Here\u2019s what\u2019ll take its place<\/a><\/p>\n

Superintendent Anthony Lewis said in January the three administrators were suspended Dec. 19, a day after he learned of a search warrant police executed at school system headquarters. But emails released to The N&O this month show the Durham County District Attorney\u2019s Office reached out to Lewis in early November \u2014 and didn\u2019t get a response until Jan. 5.<\/p>\n

In a Nov. 12 email, Assistant District Attorney Sarah Al-Zoubi emailed Lewis to invite him to meet with her and District Attorney Satana Deberry \u201cso that I can bring you into the issues that we are having with full legal compliance of court orders.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his Jan. 5 response, Lewis apologized for the delay.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe attorneys at Tharrington made me aware of your email, and I regret that I did not get caught up on this message while I was in Austin participating in the Inter-City visit with the Durham Chamber,\u201d Lewis wrote. \u201cOnce my new Executive Assistant is hired, I will implement processes to ensure this does not happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

It appears that meeting may have finally occurred at the end of January, after the indictments were issued, according to email records.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe view the DA\u2019s Office as a valuable partner in protecting our students,\u201d Lewis told the media in a Jan. 22 press conference. He said the school system would be establishing \u201cregular communications\u201d with Deberry\u2019s office \u201cto ensure we are fully cooperating with investigative efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Chicken stored under wastewater pump: Latest Triangle restaurant inspections<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 11:31 AM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A former Durham deputy superintendent, Tanya Giovanni, faces an added felony obstruction charge over delays in an Eno Valley Elementary child abuse probe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nFormer Durham school official faces new charge in alleged, child abuse cover-up case - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=566\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former Durham school official faces new charge in alleged, child abuse cover-up case - 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