Vincent Chan, 45, has pleaded guilty to 26 child sex offences committed between 2022 and 2024 at Bright Horizons nursery on Finchley Road, London. The offences include sexual assaults on four girls aged two to four, as well as charges related to over 25,000 indecent images of children. Two of his victims have yet to be identified.
Chan, who worked as an early-years practitioner at the nursery from 2017 until his arrest in 2024, used iPads from the classroom to film some of his attacks. His offending was discovered by chance, and about 700 parents of children who attended during his employment have been contacted by police.
At Wood Green Crown Court, Chan pleaded guilty to all charges, including five sexual assaults by penetration, four sexual assaults, 11 counts of taking indecent photos, and six of making indecent images. He had passed enhanced vetting checks and had no previous criminal record.
Families of the victims expressed anger at Bright Horizons, questioning how Chan was employed and why safeguarding systems failed. Some parents reported that previous complaints about Chan's behaviour had been ignored. The nursery has pledged to cooperate with a forthcoming safeguarding review.
Commander Hayley Sewart of the Metropolitan Police stated that Chan's role required a high degree of trust, which he betrayed. Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford described Chan's offending as a 'calculated and predatory pattern of abuse.' Chan is due to be sentenced at a later date.
