The lawyer for a day care employee accused of inappropriately touching five children said his client only touched children during the course of play.
Child sex abuse charges against Taylor Keith Boykin will go to the grand jury following a juvenile court hearing Thursday.
Police arrested Boykin April 20 after a victim told her mother an assistant teacher at Minnieland Academy in Bristow inappropriately touched her March 26, police said.
"Mr. Boykin routinely played games with the children, and the games included physical touching, playful tickling and such," attorney Robert Jenkins told Northern Virginia Bureau Chief Julie Carey. "Certainly at one point in time, one or more of the children interpreted the tickling or touching as being inappropriate. That sparked the investigation."
The allegations against Boykin date back to October 2016, according to the commonwealth's attorney.
Investigators also found inappropriate photos of children on Boykin's phone, according to the commonwealth's attorney.
Jenkins said he hasn't seen those photos.
"I have to reserve judgment until I see those photos," he said.
Prosecutors have said other teachers had concerns about Boykin and tried to keep him from interacting with children coming down the slide on the playground.
