Nursery worker was 'emulating' past during abuse

A nursery worker who sexually abused five toddlers in his care has told a jury he was "emulating" what was done to him as a child.

Nathan Bennett denies eight charges including rape, sexual assault, and assault by penetration against two and three-year-old boys at the Partou King Street nursery in Bristol.

The 30-year-old previously pleaded guilty to eight charges of sexual assault involving five boys at the nursery.

Giving evidence at Bristol Crown Court earlier, Bennett said: "Growing up as a child I was exposed to a lot of sexual activity on myself."

"It sort of just became, I guess, normalised through that," he added.

Bennett started working at the nursery in July 2024 and was sent home from a shift in February when a manager saw him carry out an alleged sexual assault via CCTV footage. The nursery closed in December that year.

Virginia Cornwall, prosecuting, previously told the jury the abuse was "every parent's nightmare".

She said that Bennett, by his partial guilty pleas, had "an admitted sexual interest in pre-school boys".

Earlier, the court heard that while Bennett accepted that the contact between him and the toddlers was sexual, he denied having a sexual attraction to them.

"As I stated I think already, it was emulating what I had experienced as a child – presuming it was to make them happy and feel better," said Bennett.

During his evidence, Bennett, who had experience working in other childcare settings, was asked why he liked working at the nursery.

"I found it easy to talk to and be around children as well as some of the staff," he said.

Bennett, of Corston, Bath, previously pleaded guilty to eight charges of sexual assault of a child, four charges of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, and one charge of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

He denies two charges of raping a child, four charges of sexual assault of a child, and two charges of assault of a child by penetration.

The judge has discharged the jury from returning verdicts against Bennett on three charges of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

The evidence in the trial has concluded and the jury is set to hear closing speeches on Friday.

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