Director of Day Care Raped and Beaten; Man Charged

MEMPHIS, TN- Police have charged a man in the rape and robbery of a Memphis day care worker in Whitehaven.
It happened around 5:00 a.m. Monday, October 20, 2008 at “Shauna's Preparatory Academy” at 1305 Winchester.

Felicia Jones was about to drop her three kids off at the day care center when she found out what happened.

“I pulled up and everyone was crying. I went inside and it looks real bad. He tore down everything the kids play with. All the office stuff, everything. He really tore up everything," says Jones.

The victim's sister says the man knocked on the front door. She opened the door because she thought it was a day care van driver. After the attack, the victim’s sister says the man got away with a laptop computer and keys to the building. We’re told the man then tried to sell the computer at the “Exxon Gas Station” and “Checkers” on Elvis Presley Boulevard near Winchester.

Memphis police say they have charged Tarius Johnson, 33, with aggravated rape, aggravated robbery and burglary of the daycare. According to investigators, officers saw Johnson arguing with two women on the side of the road at Elvis Presley Boulevard and Old Hickory. The women told police that Johnson had stolen a laptop computer from the daycare and that he also raped the woman.

Shaun Williams who works at the “Checkers” in the area saw the man in front of the fast food restaurant.

"He was trying to sell the laptop and game for $25. He walked away and then the police came and let us know they were looking for him and that he raped a lady. That’s crazy,” says Williams.

Williams says the man trying to sell the laptop is a homeless man who has been in that area for quite some time.

The victim’s sister says she was taken to “The Med” and treated for a head injury.

Our “Neighborhood Crime Tracker” is looking at the Whitehaven area near "Shauna's Preparatory Academy".

In the past month, there have been nearly 90 crimes reported within a half mile of 1305 Winchester. There have been 17 assaults in the area, there were three business robberies. Police say three people were robbed and there were also ten home burglaries and one carjacking in that area.