Abusive nursery worker 'could harm other children'

A nursery worker who was jailed for abusing 21 babies is due for deportation to her native Poland, but her victims' parents fear she could go on to harm more children, MPs have heard.

Roksana Lecka is due to leave the UK on 5 February, after which her treatment is a matter for Polish authorities.

Lecka, now 23, was jailed for eight years in September after admitting seven counts of cruelty to a person under the age of 16, and was convicted after a trial of another 14 counts.

Lib Dem MP Munira Wilson told the Commons the children's parents had been given no information about whether Lecka will continue to serve the rest of her eight-year sentence or whether she will walk free.

Wilson said clear communication and transparency were key in child abuse cases.

"The parents of the 21 babies abused by Roksana Lecka at Riverside Nursery in Twickenham were given less than a week's notice that she would be deported to Poland this Thursday.

"They fear, if left unsupervised, she will harm many more children."

Wilson called for information regarding Lecka's release terms.

One of the parents whose child was abused by Lecka told BBC London they were "shocked, angry and frustrated" about news of her upcoming deportation.

"The expectation obviously was that that sentence would be served. And it now appears it's not going to be.

"The reasoning behind custodial sentences, theoretically, is punishment for the offender, some form of rehabilitation and a deterrent to it happening again.

"In this case, the, the punishment hasn't been served. It's unclear if there's been any rehabilitation.

"And in terms of a deterrent, if foreign nationals know that effectively they won't even have to serve that sentence, then I don't think that deterrent is there either.

"It just makes the process feel slightly pointless."

Victims minister Alex Davies-Jones said she wanted to send "thoughts and sympathies to all of the victims of these most heinous crimes".

She said sentencing minister Jake Richards was due to meet the Home Office to discuss the needs of the case.

British police are thought to be trying to contact Polish authorities to make them aware of Lecka's offending history.

A Home Office spokesperson declined to comment on the case, but said: "We will not allow foreign criminals and illegal migrants to exploit our laws.

"We are reforming human rights laws and replacing the broken appeals system so we can scale up deportations.

"All foreign national offenders who receive a prison sentence in the UK are referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity."

Lecka's crimes were discovered in June 2024 after she was sent home for pinching a number of children at Riverside Nursery in Twickenham, which has since closed.

Lecka, from Hounslow, London, worked at the nursery school between January and June 2024.

At her sentencing last year, Judge Sarah Plaschkes KC said Lecka "pinched, slapped, punched, smacked and kicked" children, "pulled their ears, hair and their toes", and toppled them "headfirst into cots".

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