A Minneapolis day care employee is criminally charged after a tip led investigators to find child sexual abuse material on his phone — including images of children he worked with.

Eric Phillip Allen, 29, faces one count of possessing child pornography, online court records show. He was arrested on Monday after the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension executed a search warrant at his Minneapolis home.

According to a criminal complaint, the search warrant stemmed from a tip last year that came into the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about a cellphone containing hundreds of files of child sexual abuse material. A subpoena issued last June revealed that Allen was the authorized user on the phone’s number.

A BCA agent reviewing the cyber tip in March found several files, including videos of underage girls performing sexual acts. Several other tips were connected to Allen’s email and home address.

A search warrant of Allen’s apartment on Friday turned up the cellphone, which contained images and video of child sexual abuse. Allen told the agent the images “were a result of viruses,” the complaint states.

Allen also admitted to taking pictures of girls in the bathroom of the church day care where he worked and provided the names of the victims.

When asked the ages of the children pictured, he “paused and eventually said ages 10 to 15”; however, investigators estimate the victims to be as young as 4 to 6 years old, charging documents state.

A source told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that Allen was an employee of the child care facility at Mt. Carmel Lutheran Church. The church declined to comment for this story.

Online records indicate Allen is in custody at the Hennepin County Jail. His first court appearance has yet to be scheduled.

Jane Straub sees these child abuse cases while working as the training director for CornerHouse, an organization working to prevent and end abuse.

“I think in the world, people have a hard time or they don’t want to think of babies and children being physically or sexually abused,” Straub said. “But unfortunately in this work, we do know that happens.”

She explained when parents notice behavior changes in babies and kids, it’s worth noting.

“We talk about eating patterns, sleeping patterns and then anything related to diapering or toileting. So any changes in that, we just really want parents to pay attention,” Straub said.

Straub mentioned when parents and caregivers are searching for babysitters and day care centers, it’s important to ask questions and do research.

“You want to ask about their policies. You want to ask, ‘What do you have in place to protect children? How do you train your employees?’” she said. “What do you know about child abuse? What do you know about the signs of somebody that’s hurting a child?”