A nursery worker has been found guilty of r@ping and s3xually assaulting five toddlers in his care at a Bristol childcare centre.
Nathan Bennett, 30, carried out the offences against children aged two and three at Partou King Street nursery in Bristol. He was convicted at Bristol Crown Court in United Kingdom of eight charges, including rape, s3xual assault and assault by penetration. He had previously pleaded guilty to 13 additional offences connected to the same nursery.
The court heard the crimes took place over the course of a year and involved five young children. Bennett, of Corston, Bath, was arrested in August last year following a six-month investigation by Avon and Somerset Police.
Jurors were told that evidence of his behaviour was captured on CCTV footage from inside the nursery. Concerns had been raised by both parents and staff about Bennett’s conduct before the investigation was launched.
Virginia Cornwall, prosecuting, described the case as “every parent’s nightmare.” She told the court that nursery manager Victoria Tutton reviewed CCTV footage in February last year which showed Bennett groping a child and immediately sent him home.
The police inquiry that followed led to Bennett’s arrest and the eventual closure of the nursery in December.
Elizabeth Burton, a fellow nursery worker, told the court Bennett appeared to have a “jealous attachment” to a group of five children and would “take control of them.”
“He seemed to have a group of five children that he had a jealous attachment with. He would take control of them,” she said.
“His behaviour would be over-affectionate, as well as having them sat on his lap, he would kiss them on the face, like on the cheek or forehead.”
The court also heard that Bennett frequently wore the same pair of trousers to work, which colleagues considered inappropriate.
During the trial, jurors were shown video interviews with two of the children, identified as Child A and Child E. Child E’s mother told the court her son had demonstrated what had happened to him.
“I got him to stop doing it. I asked him when did that happen. He said it happened at nursery,” she said. Temporary Detective Inspector Lucy Ford described the investigation as “deeply challenging and distressing.”
“Nathan Bennett was trusted to care for children but committed s3xual offences against the very young children at his place of work,” she said.
“An investigation involving such young children was deeply challenging and distressing for all concerned. I would like to pay tribute to the support and strength shown by those families.”
Law firm Leigh Day, which represents several of the affected families, said the abuse had left parents seeking answers about safeguarding procedures at the nursery.
“We are devastated by the horrific abuse children have suffered at the hands of someone whom we all trusted to care for them,” the firm said in a statement.
“Nothing can begin to explain the shock, anger and heartbreak we feel, or the profound and lasting impact we are sure this will have on families. The children were innocent and completely vulnerable; they were in a place that should have been safe. We want answers.
“We want to understand how someone like Nathan Bennett was able to work with young children, what checks were made and how the safeguarding systems in place at Partou King Street nursery failed so catastrophically.”
