Roksana Lecka, from Hounslow in west London, has been jailed for eight years after admitting seven counts of cruelty to a person under 16 and being convicted on a further 14 counts linked to abuse at two nurseries. The offences were uncovered in June 2024 after she was sent home from Riverside Nursery in Twickenham for pinching a number of children.

At Kingston Crown Court, many of the victims’ parents gave victim‑impact statements describing heartbreak, guilt and distrust, with the proceedings held in a full courtroom that included Lecka’s family and four jurors who returned to observe the sentencing.

Judge Sarah Plaschkes KC told Lecka she should not work with children again and described the acts as gratuitous violence. The court heard she pinched, slapped, punched, smacked and kicked children, pulled their ears, hair and toes, and toppled a child headfirst into a cot, leaving bruising and red marks. The judge said she watched the children suffer while knowing what she was doing. Police further confirmed the abuse via CCTV from the nurseries showing Lecka pinching and scratching children under their clothes, and in one instance kicking a boy in the face, as well as covering a toddler’s mouth when he cried.

Prosecutors said the offences occurred at two nurseries between October 2023 and June 2024, with Riverside Nursery later closing. Lecka’s defence described remorse and cited a prior good character and her youth, while acknowledging cannabis and vaping use around that period. She was found not guilty on three counts of child cruelty.