Head Start worker faces child sex charge

A worker at a Wilmington Head Start facility is in jail charged with raping a child.

Wilmington Police tell WWAY 50-year-old Johnie Lewis, Jr. has worked for Head Start for 27 years. He is now charged with felony sex offense with a child and indecent liberties with a child.

Police say a mother filed a report based on what her four-year-old told her happened in a restroom at Head Start some time between mid-November and mid-December. The alleged victim is the only student to come forward with such a claim.

Investigators say Lewis denies the allegations. He is in the New Hanover County Jail under $750,000 bond.