An ‘utterly wicked’ paedophile who was ‘every parent’s worst nightmare’ after he sexually abused children ‘in plain sight’ at the nursery where he worked has been jailed.
Vincent Chan was handed an 18-year sentence after he admitted 56 counts of molesting children, sexually assaulting a woman, taking upskirt videos of girls in his previous job in a primary school, and spying on females getting undressed.
His victims, aged between two and in her 70s, said they felt ‘violated’, ‘frightened’, and ‘disgusted’ in powerful statements read before the Wood Green Crown Court.
His Honour Judge John Dodd said the 45-year-old British national was ‘someone who clearly lost all sense of moral compass’, and behaved in a ‘sexually deviant manner, focusing not exclusively on the children in your care’.
He said: ‘Any right-thinking person hearing about your offences will feel revulsion and disbelief.’
He said: ‘The offending came to light because you chose to record your perverted activity. Your appetite for this material was substantial.
‘There are many victims left profoundly hurt as a result of your offending – their victim impact statements make for harrowing reading.’
Chan sat emotionless throughout the lengthy hearing, which outlined his sickening campaign of abuse lasting 15 years, as the parents of some of his young victims comforted each other just a few metres away.
He was finally caught when a colleague at the £2,000-a-month Bright Horizons Finchley Road nursery raised concerns about her experienced colleague Chan’s behaviour.
Chan was suspended and the police called in – only to find a disturbing cache of images and videos documenting his hideous crimes.
Prosecutor Philip Stott told the hearing Chan was offending right up until the day before he was suspended from work in 2024, when a whistleblower flagged he had been ‘filming children in his care who were clearly distressed, crying, wetting themselves or eating their own mucus, superimposing audio or imagery over the videos in an apparent attempt at humour’.
Around 20 family members of children previously at the nursery were in court for the hearing.
In a particularly sinister twist, one mother described how Chan gave her daughter a farewell card he had designed upon her leaving his nursery – the parent unaware Chan filmed himself sexually abusing her.
Reading from her statement, prosecutor Mr Stott said: ‘She (mum) thought that to be a kind and thoughtful gesture which she kept in the home for a year – but learning the truth has been deeply distressing.’
One of his child victims, who is now much older, said she experienced ‘a new sense of fear’ since becoming aware of his crimes.
‘Now I am edgy and jumpy, I struggle to walk alone in the dark,’ she said. ‘I have always had positive experiences with men, but this has changed that.’
A former colleague, who Chan sexually assaulted, described how she had no idea about his dark criminal past.
She said: ‘You have proven, even in sleep, there is no guaranteed safety when a predator is allowed to hide in plain sight.
‘You have spent the last 15 years building a life on the suffering and secrets of others.
‘Today, that silence ends.’
A statement on behalf of the community of around 200 people described how parents ‘blame ourselves’ for failing to keep their own children safe.
They added: ‘What should have been a time of safety and innocence has now become a time of distress.’
Another woman added: ‘I trusted you, but the truth was I was never safe with you.’
The judge said the blame was ‘yours (Chan) and yours alone’.
Chan, of Stanhope Avenue in Finchley, pleaded guilty to charges including five counts of sexual assault by penetration, four counts of sexual assault by touching, 11 counts of voyeurism, and 23 counts of taking indecent images of children. One of the images was named ‘jailbait’, the court heard.
He also admitted six counts of outraging public decency – also known as upskirting – one sexual assault on a female by touching a woman’s breasts while she was asleep, and six counts of making indecent images of children.
The offending dates back around 15 years, and involves at least 20 female victims, although police believe there may be others who have not been identified.
‘Highly educated’ Masters graduate Chan was a supply teacher across primary and secondary schools in north London from 2006 to 2007, although there was no evidence of offending during this time.
It was after he joined St Mary’s Church of England School in Finchley, in October 2007, that Chan is believed to have begun targeting vulnerable children. He was initially hired as IT support, but also occasionally took classes.
It is understood he was responsible for photographing and filming events such as performances and trips for the school website.
He worked at Bright Horizons from 2017, sexually abusing at least four little girls aged between two and four after passing an advanced vetting process and reference checks to become an art specialist.
He later became a nursery nurse and was promoted to room leader. But this is thought to have limited his access to children, so he asked to be demoted to his former role, in which he fed, dressed and cleaned children.
Although he pleaded guilty to all charges, Chan has yet to explain why he carried out his depraved offending.
Defence counsel Nicholas Jones admitted his client had ‘limited’ mitigation, but said Chan pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.
He said: ‘He has a problem – he doesn’t want to be the person that he is, and is willing to get help.’
Three people in the public gallery left the court briefly as Mr Jones got to his feet.
And some of those who remained reacted with apparent anger as Mr Jones said the most serious offences would not happen again because Chan would not be permitted to work with children upon his release.
Police have contacted the families of around 1,200 children thought to have been in Chan’s care since his career began.
In a statement issued by their legal team at law firm Leigh Day, families said: ‘We welcome today’s outcome and are relieved that Vincent Chan is now behind bars for his sickening crimes.
‘However, we still do not know the full scale of his offending at Bright Horizons, Finchley Road. Every family deserves the truth, and every child who suffered must see justice done.
‘Bright Horizons must also be held to account. We believe their safeguarding failures created the perfect hunting ground for a predator. Chan was not a ‘lone wolf’, and this was not about extraordinary technical skill. He was able to operate for years in a workplace where safeguarding failures were missed, minimised or ignored.
‘Camden Council must use its powers to pursue Bright Horizons for breaches under the Health and Safety at Work Act. A nursery must be a place of safety, not a place where children are put at risk.
‘We are also using the Victims’ Right to Review to seek reconsideration of the neglect charges for which Chan was first arrested.
‘Our children carry what was done to them. They deserve justice, and we will not stop until they have it.’
Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford, the Senior Investigating Officer, said: ‘Chan’s crimes are horrific, but we will not let his name overshadow today.
‘Our foremost responsibility throughout has been to the victims – carrying out a meticulous investigation that established the extent of the offending and ensured Chan was held to account.’
The Bright Horizons branch where Chan preyed on vulnerable children has now closed down.
A spokesman for the nursery chain, which is facing legal action from a group of parents over the abuse, said: ‘We are shocked and appalled by this individual’s horrific crimes. Our thoughts are first and foremost with the children and families affected, and we are committed to offering support to them during this incredibly difficult time.
‘Whilst this individual’s actions came to light after a colleague raised concerns and followed our whistle-blowing procedures to report him, we fully accept that the evidence shows the individual was able to commit these crimes despite our safeguarding measures.
‘In light of this, we have commissioned an external expert in this field to undertake a full review of our safeguarding practices.’
A Camden Council spokesman said: ‘This is a highly distressing case and our thoughts are with the children and families whose lives have been so deeply affected.
‘Camden Council is participating in the independent Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review into the abuse at the former Bright Horizons nursery branch, and at settings within Barnet, designed to prevent anything like this from ever happening again.’
Earlier this week nursery worker Nathan Bennett was convicted of eight charges including rape, sexual assault and assault by penetration, relating to five children aged two or three at the Partou King Street nursery in Bristol.
The 30-year-old will be sentenced next month.
Credits: Daily Mail
