Families of 21 babies abused by a 22-year-old nursery worker have recalled the “horrifying” moment they watched CCTV of the assaults on their children, which had left them covered in bruises and scratches.
Roksana Lecka carried out a harrowing campaign of abuse while working at two nurseries in south-west London, which included kicking a little boy in the face.
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.
Becoming tearful, one mother told Lecka’s sentencing hearing: “The early days of the trial were the worst two days of my life. Watching how relentless Roksana was in picking out a child and assaulting them again and again was horrifying.”
Before the discovery of her crimes, the mother had taken a photo of a bruise on her son’s ear, which she said would have left him “screaming” in pain, and told how the trauma of the case had caused her to move out of the area.
She added: “I cannot get over how an adult could have done that to a child. My biggest worry is that my son will think that’s something adults do to children.
“It will live with me forever knowing that my son and 20 other children had to go through this.”
Other parents said they had been left feeling “mistrustful” of leaving their children, and some found their toddlers had been left with sleeping issues and separation anxiety.
Lecka, from Hounslow, previously 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.
After being caught pinching the children in her care, detectives from the Metropolitan Police trawled through CCTV from the nursery to discover she had repeatedly abused children under their clothes on their arms, legs and stomachs.
She pinched several children dozens of times over the course of one day, causing them to cry and flinch away from her.
In one incident, she kicked a little boy in the face several times. She was also seen pushing babies headfirst over cots and covering a toddler’s mouth when he started to cry.
The Metropolitan Police 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.
Lecka told police she smoked cannabis before her shifts, and at one point was seen vaping a metre away from a young baby.
She was employed and 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.
Other parents accused Lecka of showing “no remorse” throughout the trial, and said her showing up to work after smoking cannabis and vaping showed a “total disregard” for the children in her care.
Taking to the witness stand, one mother said: “Her defence at the trial left me speechless. Her excuses were selfish; I found she was only interested in serving herself and had a complete lack of accountability.
“Her personal life left me gobsmacked, how little she cared for the job she was in.”
Several spoke of the financial impact of childcare costs after Riverside Nursery closed, and said they had been forced to take time off work due to the stress of the case.
“As parents, we live with guilt. We know it’s not our fault, but we still feel it, because we were not there to protect him,” the family of one little boy said. “This crime has changed the way we view the world and how we parent.
“We will carry the weight of what was done to him for the rest of his life.”
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.
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”.
“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,” the MP added.
