By Zachary Meseck and Tyler Murphy, Evening Sun

NORWICH – A mother who was arrested for making a terroristic threat after getting into a dispute with a school staff member over her daughter being bullied, had the charges dropped in court and is now suing the Norwich City School District and City of Norwich for $5 million.

Her attorney, Douglas Drazen, said the false charges ruined his client's reputation and have made everyday a challenge.

Regina M. Donovan was previously charged with making a terroristic threat, a felony in March of 2018.

She was accused of making a terror threat while having a heated phone discussion with a school employee over her daughter being bullied. She has denied uttering the alleged remark that lead to her arrest and at the time said the incident was being blown out of proportion by the school.

Drazen said a key part of the case was an email sent from a school staff member that seemed to apologize to Donovan following the incident.

Drazen said the charges against Donovan were dropped and she is now seeking compensation for the damage the incident caused. “Fortunately Chenango County District Attorney Michael Ferrarese did what was right and dropped the charges,” he said.

“We know that it was [the DA's] decision, she appreciates that and I think he deserves credit for being a fair minded prosecutor in the regard,” said Drazen. “Now we’re hoping that the school district and the city understand they were in the wrong too.”

“Can you imagine waking up every morning thinking that everyone believes you’re a criminal,” said Drazen. “It had a terrible effect on every aspect of her life, and it’s really hard to come back from that and try to a normal life.”

“She doesn’t want to call all kinds of attention to herself, but this is the only way to get the word out there and ensure that justice is done.”

He said while Donovan is relieved to have the charges dropped, the case went on for more than a year before it was finally resolved.

According to court statements, a school employee, Joseph Downey, called Donovan while she was at her job sometime after 9:30 a.m. on March 20, 2019.

The call was in response to a previous complaint made by Donovan about her daughter being bullied by a specific group of boys. Donovan said her teenage daughter required special services and had previously attended classes at BOCES before transferring to Norwich last year. Since attending Norwich, Donovan said her daughter had been the target of bullying.

“The school is trying to cover up the fact my daughter has been bullied by students at the school this whole year,” said Donovan. She said her daughter suffered from a physical disability and was picked on by classmates.

“She has been verbally and physically assaulted on a daily basis and is scared to go to school. I have reported the occurrence on so many occasions and nothing has been done to rectify the situation,” she said.

In March 2019 the school employee, Downey, stated this was the first time he had been informed about the complaints and he then attempted to address them.

Downey told investigators, “I had a conversation with Regina Donovan regarding her daughter. Regina reported that she is being bullied by several students. As a result, I spoke with [the daughter] this morning. She reported the same thing to me about these students picking on her, I also had a conversation with all the students that were involved. After meeting with these students, I called Regina.”

It was during this follow up phone call between Donovan and Downey that the alleged threat took place.

During the conversation Downey asked Donovan why she had not made a previous complaint and Donovan responded by saying she had made at least 10 and spoken with other officials. She asked Downey how he could be unaware of that information.

During this call Donovan said she expressed frustration with the lack of information, the failure to address her previous concerns, and of a lack of acknowledgment from other school administrators.

“I told him I had been to several meetings and he stated that no one had advised him of anything. I then told him that they are forcing my daughter to sit in the classroom during lunch because the boys are horrible to her. He said he was going to investigate and get back to me,” Donovan told police.

In her statement Donovan admits to cursing at Downey on the phone. “I cursed at him and said ‘god damn it,’ you guys do nothing there,” she said.

It was also during this point in the conversation that Donovan threatened legal action against the school.

During the conversation Downey reported that Donovan made the following statement that may have led to her arrest: “If someone touches my daughter again, I will make the Norwich Middle School rain in blood.”

However Donovan claims she only said: “New York state is going to make it rain at your school.”
“Never once did I threaten anyone,” said Donovan in March 2019.

“It’s a figure of speech,” she said. “What does it mean? That NY State is going to investigate you and heads will turn.”

While denying making any actual threat, Donovan explained her conduct to police in her statement, “I said this because I want an investigation launched into this incident. This makes me feel hurt and I’m angry that the school is not handling it. I then said I was going to launch a civil investigation with an attorney because my daughter is not safe at your school. At this time I hung up the phone.”

Later that afternoon in March 2019 she was contacted again at work but this time by police.

“They asked me to come down, they said you’re not under arrest we just want to talk. Then after the interview they came in and said the district attorney wants to press charges,” she said.

“Regina is greatly relieved not to have such a serious charge hanging over her head, but it was all people heard about for over a year,” said Drazen. “She continues to believe that the charge should never have happened, and that her special needs child was being bullied at school; she was only expressing her free speech right to discuss her dissatisfaction.”

He added, “The school and the city should make a settlement with her, they should compensate her for what they put her through.”

Donovan has struggled with maintaining a normal life since the charge was brought up against her, said Drazen, but fortunately her close friends and family supported her throughout the process.