A 22-year-old British daycare worker has been found guilty of abusing 21 infants, including kicking a child in the face and stepping on his shoulder.
According to The Guardian, Roksana Lecka, from Hounslow, admitted to seven counts of cruelty to children under 16 and was convicted on 14 additional charges by a Kingston Crown Court jury.
Her abusive actions were uncovered last June after she was sent home for pinching children and appearing “flustered” at Riverside Nursery in Twickenham, as reported by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Metropolitan Police reviewed nursery CCTV, which showed Lecka pinching and scratching children under their clothes.
In other incidents, she kicked a boy in the face repeatedly, pushed infants over cots and covered a crying toddler’s mouth.
“Footage showed Lecka carrying out multiple assaults on the children in her care which included repeatedly punching and grabbing children, dropping babies into their cots and, on one occasion, she delivered several kicks to a young boy to the face and stepped on his shoulder,” Detective Sergeant Geoff Boyle said.
BBC reports that Lecka admitted to smoking marijuana before her shift started, while CCTV footage also showed her vaping near an infant.
Lecka worked at the nursery from January to June 2024, according to BBC. Within months of her start date, several parents reported unusual bruising and injuries on their children.
Further, another incident reportedly happened at her previous job at the Little Munchkins nursery in Hounslow.
“The sheer scale of her abuse is staggering,” Gemma Burns of the Crown Prosecution Service said in a statement.
“Lecka repeatedly showed exceptional cruelty in her appalling treatment of these babies… the CPS put forth compelling evidence that clearly showed her targeting children when colleagues were either out of the room, or had their backs turned.”
Lecka has been ordered to never work with or around children again. Her sentencing has been scheduled for September 26.
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[Feature Photo: Roksana Lecka/Met Police]
