A nursery worker has been convicted of mistreating 21 children in her care after she was caught on CCTV pinching, punching and kicking her victims.
Prosecutors said the scale of the abuse was “staggering” and Roksana Lecka “showed exceptional cruelty in her appalling treatment” of children over a six-month period at the Riverside Nursery in Twickenham, southwest London.
The nursery charged parents up to £1,900 a month to look after youngsters, aged between 18 months and two years, and followed the Montessori method of teaching, which involves allowing children to pursue their natural interests and activities.
Lecka, 22, admitted seven charges of child cruelty and was found guilty of 14 further counts by a jury after a trial at Kingston Crown Court. She was cleared of three other charges.
One conviction related to a child at another nursery that Lecka worked at in Hounslow, west London, in 2023.
The jury heard there were no concerns raised when Lecka applied for a job at the Twickenham nursery, which has now closed, with references from another nursery and two families for whom she had babysat.
But it was discovered she had “badly treated” children after a CCTV trawl when a colleague raised the alarm, the court heard.
There were gasps from parents in the public gallery – some who were watching the footage for the first time – as it was played in court at the start of the trial.
Children could be seen crying and flinching as they were repeatedly pinched and scratched on their arms, legs and stomachs by Lecka – with some attacked dozens of times in a day.
Defendant ‘addicted to vapes and smoked cannabis’
In one clip, she was seen kicking a child on the floor, while others show her pushing children headfirst over cots, shoving one on to a mattress in the sleep room and aggressively covering a toddler’s mouth as he started to cry.
Prosecutors said Lecka could be seen vaping in another clip before taking a baby from a crib, who she was later filmed pinching and punching her side.
Giving evidence, the nursery worker said she would regularly smoke cannabis with her boyfriend and was addicted to vapes.
Prosecutor Tracy Ayling KC told the jury Lecka was “looking around at other members of staff and who is watching when these assaults occur”.
The Metropolitan Police released bodycam footage of the moment Lecka was arrested at her home in Hounslow, west London, and a clip of her answering “no comment” to questions from detectives about the injuries to the children.
She said in a prepared statement: “I deny assaulting any children at the Riverside Nursery…. I went into work that day and had a normal day. There were no accidents where any child seemed hurt.
“We have procedures for the handling of the children, which I adhered to. I am unaware how any injury to these children were caused.”
‘Sheer scale of abuse is staggering’
Lawyer Jemma Till, from Irwin Mitchell, a legal firm representing some of the parents of the victims, said: “The families we represent are not only deeply shocked but also traumatised by what their children have endured.
“This is sadly yet another devastating case where children have suffered at the hands of someone in a position of trust.
“Whilst Lecka’s actions have been stopped, the consequences of those actions are likely to affect families for many years. Nothing can undo what has happened but it’s now vital that lessons are learned, and where appropriate, measures introduced to prevent other children being harmed.”
Senior Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor Gemma Burns said: “Lecka repeatedly showed exceptional cruelty in her appalling treatment of these babies.
“No parent should have to fear leaving their child in the care of professionals, but the sheer scale of her abuse is staggering.”
She added: “Lecka was placed in a position of trust and her job required her to provide safety and protection. Instead, she kicked, scratched, and pinched these young children, with this vile abuse of vulnerable victims continuing for many months.”
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Detective Sergeant Geoff Boye said officers reviewed more than 300 hours of CCTV footage during the investigation to reveal Lecka’s “prolific” offending.
It included “pinching and grabbing children, dropping babies into their cots and on one occasion, she delivered several kicks to a young boy to the face and stepped on his shoulder,” the officer said.
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Detective Inspector Sian Hutchings added: “These families left their children in Lecka’s care, trusting her to take protect their children as well as the other staff at the nurseries clearly did.
“The footage of her offences against defenceless children was disturbing.”
Lecka will be sentenced on 26 September.
