GREENSBORO — Guilford County sheriff's deputies have filed another charge of sexual assault of a minor against a former employee of a group home belonging to former Deputy Police Chief James Hinson.
And prosecutors say this charge involves a different child.
Richard Vernell Heath, 51, of Greensboro now faces a sexual battery charge that raised his bail to $77,350, records show.
An investigation of Heath began in May after a 15-year-old boy told other group home employees that Heath had inappropriately touched him and forced him to perform oral sex at Center of Progressive Strides.
The group home, which has since closed, was owned by former Greensboro Police Sgt. Kevin Chandler and Hinson, who retired Friday after deputies began issuing charges against Heath.
The retirement came as a surprise because Hinson told the News & Record two weeks earlier that he decided to close the group home to further his career at the police department.
Many thought he would apply to take Police Chief Wayne Scott's position after he announced his own retirement.
“The city thanks Deputy Chief Hinson for his years of service and we wish him well in his future endeavors,” the city said Thursday in a news release announcing Hinson's retirement.
There’s no information that either Hinson or Chandler is the direct subject of any criminal investigation, but state investigators say the men failed to report the allegations to Child Protective Services or law enforcement.
Their former employee's new charge came Thursday, one day after Assistant District Attorney Kelly Thompson told a judge that more charges could be issued in connection to alleged incidents with three other children.
Thompson told Judge Bill Davis in court Wednesday that a group-home resident who witnessed one of the sexual assaults of the 15-year-old told investigators that Heath had touched him, too.
In 2014, Heath was accused of stalking a man he had allegedly sexually assaulted as a child, Thompson said. Heath disappeared after charges were filed, she said.
Three years after Heath disappeared, he was accused of following a 10-year-old boy to the bathroom of a public library while groping him and then masturbating in front of him, Thompson told Davis at that earlier hearing.
Neither case was prosecuted because it left one boy too traumatized and the man had moved away from Greensboro by the time Heath resurfaced, Thompson said.
Court records show the latest charge is based on a Jan. 1 incident. Deputies have not made the incident report public and did not immediately respond to a request for a copy.
Heath remains in the Guilford County jail.
James Hinson 1999

In 1999 James Hinson (center), then a sergeant in the Greensboro Police Department, was joined by Robert. White (right), then the chief of police, at a 1999 fundraiser for the Council for the Development of Young People.
James Hinson

Greensboro Police Lt. James Hinson right listens as his attorney Joe Williams talks to the media in Williams' office Wed. Jan. 11, 2006, in Greensboro, NC. Hinson will be re instated into the Police Department after being cleared in a much-publicized investigation.
James Hinson at protest line

The Rev. Julie Peeples and Deputy Chief James Hinson Jr. try to come to an agreement on where police and protester lines will be at Coliseum Drive and West Gate City Boulevard, during protests outside where presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center, on Tuesday, June 14, 2016, in Greensboro, N.C.
James Hinson

Newly announced Greensboro Police Chief Wayne Scott, center, acknowledges the police department’s command staff, left to right, Deputy Chiefs Brian A. Cheek, Joe Smith, Scott, Anita Holder, James Hinson, Jr. with city manager, Jim Westmoreland looking on as Chief Scott address those in attendance and his plans for the department on Thursday, March 12, 2015, in Greensboro, N.C. (LYNN HEY/ News & Record)
James Hinson

Lt. James Hinson (left) is greeted by GPD's S.A. Snipes (right) and fellow officers after he and Joe WIlliams each read a short statement on the front steps of the Greensboro Police Department steps before he returned to duty on Jan. 11, 2006, after being on paid suspension since June. Lt. James Hinson went public June 10 with accusations that Special Intelligence was targeting him. He was reinstated with a clean record.
James Hinson

Lt. James Hinson (right) and his attorney Joe WIlliams (left) after each read a short statement on the front steps of the Greensboro Police Department steps before he returned to duty on Wednesday after being on paid suspension since June on January 11, 2006 in Greensboro, NC. Lt. James Hinson went public June 10 with accusations that Special Intelligence was targeting him. He was reinstated with a clean record.(News & Record / Jerry Wolford )
James Hinson

Greensboro attorney Joe Williams, left, and Greensboro Police Lt. James Hinson answers questions in Williams' office on Jan. 11, 2006, in Greensboro. Hinson will be re instated into the Police Department after being cleared in a much-publicized investigation.
Haircuts

Deputy Chief James Hinson greets Jaheim Brown as youngsters from the Overland Heights community such as Khalik Jordan (left) receive free haircuts as a way to boost self-confidence and build rapport with Greensboro police officers.
Worship, local policing and race relations

Greensboro police Chief Wayne Scott (left) and Deputy Chief James Hinson Jr. lead a conversation about policing and race relations at St. Francis Episcopal Church on Aug. 7, 2016. St. Francis Episcopal Church invited Scott and Hinson for a dual service with members of Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit.
James Hinson

Deputy Chief James E. Hinson Jr. (left) at the scene as various agencies for the city were helping to perform a room-by-room inspection at Heritage House, 310 W. Meadowview Rd. to identify any code enforcement issues, on Wednesday, June 25, 2014, in Greensboro, N.C.
Winston Street canvass

Deputy Chief James Hinson addresses officers before Greensboro police ask residents for information about the Valentine’s Day fatal shooting death of 31-year-old Daron Huitt on Winston Street in Greensboro, N.C., on Friday, June 7, 2019.
Operation Yuletide

Chief Deputy James Hinson stuffs his SUV with gifts during Operation Yuletide on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016, in Greensboro, N.C.
Deputy Chief James Hinson with Congressman Mark Walker

Greensboro Police Deputy Chief James Hinson testifies before Congress about opioid use in Greensboro during a hearing on Thursday, July 25, 2019, in Washington, D.C.
New Light Missionary Baptist's gas giveaway

James Hinson (left) and Amos Quick pray with Kaye Jones as she received free gas on April 6, 2019, pumped into her tank by members of New Light Missionary Baptist Church, which is celebrating its 127th year in Greensboro.
Preparing for Florence

N.C. House Rep. the Rev. Amos Quick, District 58, City Councilwoman Marikay Abuzuaiter, Greensboro Deputy Police Chief James Hinson Jr., listen as Assistant Fire Chief Brent Gerald makes remarks during a 9/11 Commemoration & Prayers of Safety regarding Hurricane Florence, the nation, first responders, governmental leaders, and schools during the 32nd annual Prayer Clinic at Wells Memorial Church of God in Christ in Greensboro, NC on Sept. 11, 2018. (H. Scott Hoffmann/News & Record)
Protection Brigade

With Deputy Chief James Hinson Jr. at the door Rev. Nelson Johnson asks for the group to be allowed to make their delivery during the Operation Transparency's Protection Brigade asking the City Council to release the police video on the Jose Charles case, at the Melvin Municipal Office Building, on Wednesday, April 12, 2017, in Greensboro, N.C. After a brief press conference the crowd of about 40 people went to the council's executive office to deliver packets of information. Hinson let the group in to make their delivery.
Community Safety Conversation

Deputy Chief James Hinson speaks during Thursday's community safety conversation at Wells Memorial Church of God in Christ, Oct. 20, 2016, in Greensboro, N.C.
Police Footage Release

Deputy Chief James Hinson addresses the Greensboro City Council during a special session Sep 26, 2016, on events surrounding the arrest of Dejuan Yourse.
Police footage release

Greensboro police Chief Wayne Scott listens as Deputy Chief James Hinson addresses City Council during a special session Sept. 26. 2016, to discuss the timeline of when the Travis Cole/Dejuan Yourse interaction with officers took place and Hinson’s involvement in notifying the chief.
Worship, local policing and race relations

Two churches come together under one roof for service, St. Francis Episcopal Church invited the Church of the Holy Spirit to their service along with Greensboro Police Chief Wayne Scott, left, and Deputy Chief James Hinson, Jr., right, to lead a conversation within the context of worship about local policing and race relations in Greensboro at St. Francis Episcopal Church on Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016, in Greensboro, N.C.
Worship, local policing and race relations

Greensboro police Chief Wayne Scott (second from right) and Deputy Chief James Hinson Jr. greet parishioners following service at St. Francis Episcopal Church on Aug. 7, 2016, in Greensboro.
Deputy Chief James Hinson

Greensboro Deputy Chief James Hinson talks about policing in wake of current national events on Tuesday, July 19, 2016, in Greensboro, N.C. East wins 118-98.
Prayer vigil

The Rev. Diane Moffett (from left), Deputy Chief James Hinson Jr., the Rev. Dayhige Wright and the Rev. Amos Quick pray before the start of a recent Pulpit Forum Prayer Vigil.
Prayer vigil

Deputy Chief James Hinson, Jr. listens to the close of an emotional speech by Irving David Allen during a Pulpit Forum Prayer Vigil held for the Greensboro community at Providence Baptist Church in Greensboro, NC on July 10, 2016.
Haircuts

Deputy Chief James Hinson plays pool with Jaheim Brown as youngsters from the Overland Heights community received free haircuts as a means to boost self-confidence and build rapport with Greensboro police officers. The event is part of the on-going crime reduction campaign in the area in photo taken in Greensboro, NC on April 11, 2016. Anonymous donors have offset the cost of the services provided by the stylists from Barbers, Nails, and Beyond.
Deputy Chief James Hinson

Greensboro.com Greensboro Deputy Chief James Hinson Jr. speaks to the role of the police department during a press conference at Beloved Community Center on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014, in Greensboro, N.C. (LYNN HEY/ News & Record)
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