UK nursery worker who raped children jailed for 24 years

Nathan Bennett has been jailed at Bristol Crown Court in southwest England for the serial abuse of five boys at the nursery where he worked. Photo / Handout, Avon and Somerset Police, AFP

An “evil” UK nursery worker who raped and abused 2- and 3-year-olds in his care has been jailed for at least 24 years, weeks after another childcare worker was imprisoned in a similar case.

Nathan Bennett, 30, was jailed at Bristol Crown Court in southwest England for the serial abuse of five boys at the nursery where he worked.

He was described as an “incorrigible and dangerous paedophile” by Judge William Hart, handing down the sentence.

“You prioritised your own sexual satisfaction over the welfare of these little children and that was due to your grossly distorted thinking and a degree of – to use an old fashioned word – evil,” said Judge Hart.

Bennett was convicted last month of eight charges of rape, sexual assault and assault by penetration relating to five children.

He previously also admitted to 13 other charges relating to four of the same children, who were 2 years old at the time.

He “exploited his position” to “repeatedly abuse young children”, said prosecutor Gemma Kneebone.

The sentence comes a month after another childcare worker, Vincent Chan, was jailed for 18 years for sexually abusing youngsters during naptime at a nursery in London.

Chan’s case prompted Prime Minister Keir Starmer to consider making security cameras mandatory in nurseries – a measure that he said the Government is consulting on.

Bennett began working at the Partou King Street Nursery in Bristol in 2024, with concerns raised in February 2025 after CCTV footage showed him sexually assaulting a child.

Families affected by Bennett’s abuse said that the criminality continued at the nursery despite concerns being raised.

“We know concerns were raised to members of staff – we believe those warnings and complaints were not properly followed up or escalated,” the families said in a statement issued by law firm Leigh Day.

They added some of the abuse could have been “prevented” if “appropriate action had been taken sooner”.

Lawyer Andrew Lord, representing the group of families, said they were seeking “answers, accountability and assurances that safeguarding has drastically improved”.

- Agence France-Presse