By Daniel Kelley

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A jail guard in suburban Philadelphia faces criminal charges after being accused of sexually taunting inmates and forcing them to play "patty-cake" to escape punishment.

Joseph Mullen, 34, was charged on Wednesday with official oppression and harassment, both misdemeanors, while working as a guard at the men's wing of the Bucks County Correctional Facility in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The action came after a grand jury found enough evidence for prosecutors to charge him.

According to the grand jury's 32-page report, inmates testified that Mullen repeatedly initiated sexually inappropriate conversations, sometimes while they were using toilets in their cells.

Inmates told the grand jury that Mullen would ask whether they would perform homosexual acts for “a million dollars” and commented on the size of their genitals.

A group of inmates who were confined to their cells as punishment for having too many people in a cell said they had their punishments lifted after showing Mullen their genitals, according to the grand jury report.

Others were told by Mullen to play patty-cake, a children's game that involves slapping hands while reciting a nursery rhyme, the report says.

Trevan Borum, Mullen's attorney, said his client wants to prove his innocence.

“Mr. Mullen categorically denies these charges, and he is looking forward to challenging these charges in court,” Borum said.

Mullen was arraigned on Wednesday before District Justice Mark Douple and released on $75,000 bail.

(Editing by Frank McGurty and Will Dunham)