A 22-year-old nursery worker has been convicted of abusing 21 babies, including kicking one little boy in the face and stepping on his shoulder during a harrowing campaign of abuse.
Roksana Lecka, from Hounslow, admitted seven counts of cruelty to a person under the age of 16 and was convicted of another 14 counts by a jury at Kingston crown court.
Her crimes were discovered in June last year after she was sent home for pinching a number of children and appearing “flustered” at the Riverside Nursery in Twickenham, south-westLondon, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
Detectives from the Metropolitan police went through CCTV from the nursery that showed her pinching and scratching children under their clothes on their arms, legs and stomachs.
She pinched several children dozens of times in the course of one day, causing them to cry and flinch away from her, the CPS said.
In one incident she kicked a little boy in the face several times. She was also seen to push babies headfirst over cots and cover a toddler’s mouth when he started to cry.
The Met said she had abused children at two nurseries between October 2023 and June 2024 – one of the counts related to Little Munchkins in Hounslow, with the remainder linked to Riverside, which has since closed.
DS Geoff Boye said: “Footage showed Lecka carrying out multiple assaults on the children in her care which included repeatedly 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.”
Lecka told police she smoked cannabis before her shifts, and at one point was seen vaping a metre away from a young baby.
DI Sian Hutchings said: “These families left their children in Lecka’s care, trusting her to protect their children as well as the other staff at the nurseries clearly did.
“The footage of her offences against defenceless children was disturbing.
“I would like to praise the strength of the victims’ families who have had to sit in court and watch footage of the abuse which Lecka inflicted on their children.”
Lecka worked at Riverside Nursery between January and June 2024, with a number of parents reporting unusual injuries and bruising in March and May that year.
She will be sentenced at Kingston crown court on 26 September.
Senior crown 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.
“The CPS put forward compelling evidence that clearly showed her targeting children when colleagues were either out of the room, or had their backs turned. We also called on experts to prove that the injuries Lecka’s victims sustained were consistent with pinch marks.
“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.”
A number of parents contacted lawyers after Lecka’s abuse emerged.
Solicitor Jemma Till, from Irwin Mitchell, 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.
“In the meantime, we’re focused on supporting the families and helping them come to terms with Lecka’s dreadful actions.”
Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham, said it was “incredibly important that families see justice done and the children get all the support they need to recover from this trauma”.
She claimed there was a need for “urgent reforms to make nurseries and early years settings safe for our children”.
She added: “Nurseries must be subject to no-notice Ofsted inspections where safeguarding concerns can be raised and CCTV footage is reviewed.
“I will be working with colleagues to make sure these tragedies never happen again – every parent should know their child is safe when left at nursery.”