Fmr. middle school principal in Wilmington accused of sexually abusing child

WILMINGTON, Del. (WPVI) -- Former A.I. DuPont Middle School Principal Tasha Oliver is facing felony rape counts for alleged sexual abuse spanning from 2010 to 2014.

According to charging documents, the victim was a young girl under the age of 16.

Oliver was hired by the school, located in Wilmington, Delaware in 2020.

She was placed on leave in September of 2023. A year later she was charged under the name Tasha Purnell and then fired.

The indictment accuses her of "continuous sexual abuse of a child" and "sexual abuse of a child by a person in a position of trust."

The victim, according to the Delaware Department of Justice, was a student at Stanton Middle School, where Oliver worked as a teacher.

Parents say the district did not release information about Oliver's arrest.

Katlyn Hottes of Wilmington said her children don't go to the school but she learned from other parents.

"She was like, 'Did you hear about this? I was like, 'No,' and she said, 'Nobody had told anybody!' Now it's coming out a year later. That's so scary. I could send my kid, something could happen," Hottes said.

"Red Clay was not provided with any information that we could have legally or responsibly shared," said Alva P. Mobley, spokesperson for the Red Clay School District stated

Mobley cited a legal process called Rule 9 that limited transparency, saying it "typically involves far fewer details in public-facing court records than other types of arrests."

"We understand there are concerns, and we remain committed to transparency within the bounds of the law and the information made available to us," Mobley said.

Mat Marshall, a spokesperson with the Delaware Department of Justice, said the fault for the delay in communication lies on their office.

"I take accountability for the delay in public notification. There were a number of issues that contributed to our failure to notify - staff turnover, short-staffing, and unusual charging procedure were all factors - but if everybody's accountable then nobody's accountable. I oversee communications. I have great, dedicated people who work for and with me. When we come up short, it's on me. We clearly did not meet expectations for the public, for the A.G., or frankly for ourselves. We're not going to let it happen again," said Marshall.

Oliver's next court date is in May.