A Delaware middle school principal who was arrested in August for repeatedly raping a female student, has pleaded guilty.
As reported by WHYY, Tasha Oliver, who also uses the name Tasha Purnell, admitted in Superior Court this week to two counts of third-degee rape and one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child she taught more than a decade ago. In return, prosecutors dropped charges for 16 other felony sexual crimes against the girl.
Oliver, 44, also agreed to avoid contact with the victim, who is now an adult, and to undergo sex offender counseling and mental health evaluation and treatment as part of her plea deal.
Oliver Engaged in 'Penetration' and 'Intercourse' with Student Over Four-Year Duration from 2010 to 2014
The crimes occurred over the four-year period from 2010 to 2014 when Oliver taught at Stanton Middle School in the Red Clay Consolidated School District. She worked at Stanton from 2006 to 2016, state employment records show.
The indictment doesn't provide many details on Oliver's alleged crimes, except that there was a single victim, that Oliver engaged in "penetration" and "intercourse" with her, and that the rape and abuse occurred over a four-year period that ended July 31, 2014.
Oliver later worked at Red Clay's three other middle schools — Skyline, H.B. du Pont and A.I. du Pont. She became principal at A.I. du Pont in 2020 and was still running that school on Wilmington's outskirts in September 2023 when state police notified Red Clay officials that they were investigating Oliver for sexual crimes against the former Stanton Middle School student.
The district put her on paid leave at that time, and she continued collecting her $142,000 salary. She was charged in August.
Oliver Could Spend 8 Years in Prison
Oliver, who has been free on $205,000 secured bail since her arrest, pleaded guilty Monday, as her trial was about to start. After she entered her plea, a judge revoked her bond and she will be held at the Delores J. Baylor Correctional Center near New Castle while awaiting sentencing.
Oliver faces six to 75 years in prison but prosecutor Nicholas Wynn will seek a maximum of eight years behind bars and then "extended probation" against Oliver at her August sentencing, court documents show.
