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Police have conducted a raid at one of the largest daycare chains in the D.C. region after a teacher's aid was arrested for sexually abusing students.

Officers in unmarked vehicles were seen at Minnieland Academy in Bristow, Virginia Tuesday night, carrying a few computers and brown paper bags full of materials.

Some Minnieland employees remained inside the office during the raid. This comes the same night as a community town hall led by Prince William County Supervisor Jeanine Lawson.

Former Minnieland employee Taylor Boykin is accused of sexually assaulting four young children. Boykin, who was denied bond, happens to live just a few blocks away from the daycare. His home was also raided by investigators earlier this week.

It's the latest case of abuse to hit the popular Northern Virginia chain. The company has also dealt with lawsuits from a child cruelty scandal at Woodbridge in 2013 and a sexual assault incident at Centreville in 2010.


The company tells FOX 5 they conducted a background check on Boykin when he started working for Minnieland seven years ago. But maintaining records is a different story.

FOX 5 examined Minnieland's records through the Department of Social Services and found multiple occasions of expired criminal background checks for employees at several locations.

The state has now launched two separate investigations into Minnieland's operations. In an exclusive interview with FOX 5, the company says it has decided to launch a third-party, independent audit across all locations to do its own review of procedures.

"We want a comprehensive review of all of our protocols, all of our practices across the board to make sure that we're being consistent and make sure that we're doing everything possible to ensure the full safety and nurturing environment for the children in our care," explained Mark Hubbard, Minnieland Academy spokesman.

Officials with the daycare tell FOX 5 when they were first notified, they tried talking to parents one by one, but the news got out quicker.

Taylor Boykin was arrested on April 20, but parents didn't hear about it until four days later after reports from the media.

"We know that some parents have been frustrated with our ability to communicate effectively with them. We want to do a much better job of that," said Hubbard.

"We could have worked faster, we could have reached more parents and we are working on doing that and making sure we follow up with all of those parents," he said.

Five days after Boykin's arrest, Minnieland owners Chuck and Jackie Leopold held a meeting for frustrated parents, who accused top management of negligence and failing to keep children safe.

Several parents tell FOX 5 they are considering filing a civil lawsuit in response.

In a meeting days later, frustrated parents called out the company's owners, saying they haven't done enough to stop things like this from happening.

The company is now promising a laundry list of security changes at its Bristow location, including security cameras that offer recorded footage instead of just a live feed.

Hubbard says Minnieland is dedicated to making lasting changes.

"They've been operating for 45 years," he said.

"This is a family-owned company that began as a daycare center in the owner's home. They've grown 56 locations now with 1,700 employees and thousands of children in their care. And they take that very seriously."