A London nursery worker who admitted to 56 counts of child sexual abuse is set to be sentenced on Thursday, as the UK government considers making CCTV mandatory in nurseries following a string of similar cases.
Vincent Chan, 45, pleaded guilty to molesting four girls aged three and four at a north London nursery between 2022 and 2024. He filmed himself carrying out the abuse during naptime and also admitted to downloading thousands of indecent images of children.
Prior to his employment at the nursery, Chan worked at a north London school from 2007 to 2017, where he filmed up young girls’ skirts in a classroom and committed other offences. He also admitted to taking indecent pictures of children in 2024 and 2025, after he had left both institutions.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer told parliament on Wednesday that the government is consulting on whether to make CCTV mandatory in nurseries.
“They’re harrowing cases for everyone in this country. The safety of children is, of course, paramount, and we’re acting to keep them safe,” Starmer said.
Detective Lewis Basford of the London Met police described Chan as “a dangerous and predatory individual” and said the scale of his offending was “shocking.”
“Chan’s history demonstrates to us that he has sought out positions of trust involving contact with young girls, which allowed him to commit his crimes unchecked for so long,” Basford stated.
In a statement after Chan’s guilty plea in January, the families of the victims from the now-closed Bright Horizons nursery said they were “sickened.” According to law firm Leigh Day, 50 families have joined legal action against the nursery provider, accusing it of “brushing concerns aside.”
The sentencing comes days after another nursery worker, Nathan Bennett, was convicted in Bristol of multiple sexual offences against five boys aged two and three, including rape. He was caught after the nursery manager saw him on CCTV slipping his hands into a child’s trousers.
