Nursery worker guilty of multiple sexual offences against children in his care

A nursery worker is facing jail after being found guilty of multiple sexual offences against children in his care.

Nathan Bennett, 30, was convicted at Bristol Crown Court of eight charges including rape, sexual assault and assault by penetration, relating to five children aged two or three at the Partou King Street nursery in Bristol.

He previously admitted 13 other charges relating to four of the five victims, who were aged two at the time.

At the beginning of the trial, Virginia Cornwall, prosecuting, told jurors how concerns were raised by parents and staff about Bennett’s behaviour towards the children in his care in February last year.

On February 26, nursery manager Victoria Tutton, who was known as Vera, viewed CCTV footage which showed Bennett putting his hands down the trousers of a child and immediately sent him home.

Avon and Somerset Police launched an investigation, leading to Bennett’s arrest and later the closure of the nursery.

Ms Cornwall described the case as “every parent’s nightmare”.

Bennett began working at the nursery in July 2024 and told staff he was autistic, though jurors heard he has never been formally diagnosed with the condition.

He was noted by staff to sit children on his lap for lengthy periods of time, wear a pair of trousers with holes in the crotch area, and seemed “territorial” over certain toddlers and their parents, the court heard.

Nursery practitioner Elizabeth Burton told the court that Bennett had a “jealous attachment” with five children and would “take control of them”.

During the trial, video interviews with two of the children in the case – referred to only as Child A and Child E – were played to the jury.

Child E’s mother also gave evidence, telling how her son had demonstrated how he had been abused at his nursery.

“I got him to stop doing it. I asked him when did that happen. He said it happened at nursery,” she said.

Giving evidence, Bennett said he was “emulating” what was done to him as a child and denied having a sexual attraction to children.

The defendant, of Corston, Bath, was found guilty by the jury of:

– Two charges of raping a child under 13.

– Four charges of the sexual assault of a child under 13.

– Two charges of assault of a child under 13 by penetration.

He previously pleaded guilty to 13 other charges. They were:

– Eight charges of sexual assault of a child under 13.

– Four charges of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

– One charge of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

Judge William Hart remanded Bennett into custody until he is sentenced on March 16.

“I will order a pre-sentence report that should address length of sentence and the question of dangerousness,” he said.

“I will remand you into custody, where you have been for some time and rightly so, until March 16 when I will sentence you for what will inevitably be a very long sentence of custody.”

The judge thanked the jury for their careful consideration of a “distressing case”.

“These are the youngest children I have had to deal with in many, many years,” he told them.

“It would have been impossible for a child such as Child E to give evidence in court until very recently.

“So, he is probably the youngest child to have been a witness in a trial here, if not in the whole of the country.”

The judge told the barristers in the case that Bennett’s “predilections are very difficult to understand”.

Families involved in the case said they wanted answers to how Bennett was able to commit his crimes.

In a statement issued by law firm Leigh Day, they said: “We are devastated by the horrific abuse children have suffered at the hands of someone whom we all trusted to care for them.

“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.

“We hope that, as well as securing justice through the criminal process, the wider issues around safeguarding and protection at the nursery will be properly reviewed so that nothing like this can ever happen again.”

Leigh Day partner Andrew Lord, who represents a wider group of families affected by Bennett’s abuse, said: “This is an utterly shocking case. The seriousness of these offences against very young, defenceless children cannot be overstated.

“As lawyers specialising in abuse claims, we have significant experience supporting families through the aftermath of child sexual abuse.

“Even so, the concerns raised by the families in this matter about the Partou’s safeguarding practices are profound.

“They feel that the systems that should have been in place to protect their children simply did not work.”

Temporary Detective Inspector Lucy Ford, from Avon and Somerset Police, said: “Nathan Bennett was trusted to care for children but committed sexual offences against the very young children at his place of work.

“An investigation involving such young children was deeply challenging and distressing for all concerned.”