NORWICH – A Norwich parent, accused of making a terror threat while having a heated phone discussion with a school employee over her daughter being bullied, has denied uttering the remark and said the incident was being blown out of proportion by the school.

Regina M. Donovan, 39, of Norwich was originally charged with aggravated harassment, a misdemeanor, but prosecutors revealed Tuesday she was also being charged with making a terror threat, a felony.

Donovan pleaded not guilty in court and made appeals to the media outside the courtroom asserting her innocence and desire to fight the charges. She was represented in court by Public Defender John Cameron. She said she had barley spoken with her assigned lawyer and was now seeking a private attorney to fight the case instead.

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.

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.

On March 20 the school employee, Doweny, stated this was the first time he had been informed about the complaints and he then attempted to address them.

Doweny 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.