Nursery worker, 45, pleads guilty to 26 serious sexual offences against children

A nursery worker has pleaded guilty to 26 serious sexual offences against children following one of the Metropolitan Police's most harrowing and complex child sexual abuse investigations.

Vincent Chan, 45, of Finchley, worked at a nursery in north London between 2017 and 2024.

The offences include five counts of sexual assault of a child by penetration, four counts of sexual assault of a child by touching, 11 counts of taking indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of a child, and six counts of making indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of a child.

The latter offences involved images across categories A, B, and C, with category A depicting the most severe abuse.

Metropolitan Police said this was one of its most harrowing and complex child sexual abuse investigations.

Chan was unmasked as a paedophile after a nursery staff member reported that he had callously filmed a child falling asleep in their food and set it to music before showing the video to a colleague.

Chan was subsequently arrested in June 2024 on suspicion of neglect. He was released on bail, but lost his job at the nursery, which has since closed.

Three months later, his devices were submitted for analysis by police, which was completed in July 2025.

Chan was arrested in September this year on suspicion of sexual offences.

Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford, who led the Metropolitan Police's investigation, said: "Child sexual abuse is one of the most horrific crimes imaginable, and Chan’s offending spanned years, revealing a calculated and predatory pattern of abuse.

"He infiltrated environments that should have been safe havens for children, exploiting the trust of families and the wider community to conceal his actions and prey on the most vulnerable."

The nursery where the offending took place is no longer operating at this location.

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