A nursery worker has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for serious sexual assault of a young child. The report, by ITV News West of England correspondent Sangeeta Lal, contains harrowing details of abuse, the warning said.
As we sat in our seats for the interview, the mother, who must remain anonymous to protect the identity of her young children, seemed more relaxed than I expected.
Her attitude was intense, as if she had heard the worst of the evidence after the trial and was determined to make people understand the impact of Bennett’s crimes.
The mother, who we will call Sarah, was one of the first people to raise concerns with nursery staff after noticing the situation. Nathan Bennett Too doting on her children.
Her children were not among Bennett’s victims, but they were cared for by Bennett for about five months while they attended Kindergarten on King Street in Pattu.
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Sarah said: “I immediately noticed he was very affectionate and sensitive towards my child, which was really noticeable because this behavior was so different to the way other staff at nursery or anywhere would interact with my child.
“It was strange but it did stand out to me because it’s more about how you interact with family members you know and if my child’s uncle or grandparents were interacting with him that way, that would be normal and acceptable – and for someone who is supposed to be a key worker in a nursery, that’s strange.”
During the trial, the 30-year-old was described as an evil predator. A man who becomes obsessed with some children and makes them cling to him.
The judge described how a child who was known to be sociable and talkative changed while in Bennett’s care. The child became quiet, wanting nothing more than to talk to Bennett and wait for his arrival.
Sarah said when she first raised her concerns with the nursery management she was told they were investigating Bennett’s behavior and would speak to him directly.
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To her, the problem seemed solved. She never heard from the kindergarten again. So hearing about Bennett’s arrest was hard to digest.
Sarah said: “Despite my complaint I still didn’t expect this to happen and I was absolutely shocked.
“I mean it’s shocking on behalf of my child, who was in Nathan’s care for five months because by that time my child had been out of nursery – and there’s no CCTV back of the last few months – so we’ll never know exactly what happened.
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“We will never know what happened in that room during those five months, so it’s horrific and something I will worry about every day – and I’m also horrified on behalf of all the children that we know were victims – that they had to go through this kind of abuse.”
Bennett committed 21 sexual offenses against five children.
He was caught because his parents raised their concerns, prompting management to investigate the matter.
Sarah said: “The nature of these crimes is extremely predatory against extremely vulnerable children. When I say vulnerable children, all children are vulnerable because they are not very verbal and they have an innate trust in their carers and what he did has completely shattered that trust.”
“I personally think an important message for all parents is to be a really strong advocate for your child and for anyone who is looking after your child, and when you don’t trust your gut to speak up and ask for answers, ask about the safeguarding policies of the person looking after your child.”
In a statement today, a spokesperson for King Street Nursery in Pattu said: “Since these crimes first came to light, we have worked with a number of individuals and organizations to consider any way to enhance the protection of the children in our care.
“We have acted on the recommendations and have therefore increased training on safeguarding, strengthened policies, including on recruitment and whistleblowing, increased the number of dedicated safeguarding staff in the leadership team and introduced more internal and external audits.
“We are also committed to expanding the use of CCTV across the Pattu Estate. We are consulting with other industry stakeholders and government to support initiatives to strengthen protection across the industry.”
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