4 hours ago
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Metropolitan Police
Vincent Chan has admitted 56 charges
Families whose children attended a north London nursery where a worker has admitted sexually abusing young children are taking legal action.
Vincent Chan, 45, filmed himself abusing them during naptime at the Bright Horizons nursery in Finchley Road, West Hampstead. He has also confessed to downloading thousands of indecent images of children.
Forty six families are now seeking "full accountability" from the nursery, saying it had "repeatedly dismissed concerns" from parents about his behaviour.
Bright Horizons has been approached for comment. It has previously said it would be "premature to comment" while the Child Safeguarding Practice Review (CSPR) was ongoing.
In December, Chan pleaded guilty to 26 charges including sexual assault by penetration, sexual assault by touching and making indecent images depicting the most severe category of child sex abuse while he was working at the nursery.
On Thursday, he admitted a further 30 charges which include taking indecent photographs of children, outraging public decency, sexual assault on a female and voyeurism. These relate to 10 girls and six women and took place between 2007-17 when he worked at a school.
He will be sentenced on 12 February for all 56 offences.
The families of 700 children who attended the nursery during the time Chan worked there between 2017 and 2024 have been contacted and are receiving specialist support.
The nursery has since closed.
Warning: This article contains distressing details
Chan was suspended after a colleague raised concerns about his activities with the children.
The whistleblower complained that Chan had filmed a child falling asleep and set the footage to music, in a bid to entertain his colleagues.
The Metropolitan Police investigation that followed unearthed Chan's collection of more than 25,000 indecent images of children.
The 46 families taking the legal action are made up of relatives of the victims of his sexual abuse and image-based offending, as well as those whose children were mistreated by him in other ways, including when he made videos of children humiliated or in distress.
In a statement issued by Leigh Day, the legal firm representing them, the families said they believed Chan's crimes raised "serious questions about how childcare providers recruit, supervise and safeguard staff, and how warning signs can be overlooked over long periods of time".
"What has happened here is not just about one individual or one nursery.
"In our case, Bright Horizons repeatedly dismissed concerns from parents about Chan's behaviour, and we believe their consistent culture of brushing concerns aside was key to enabling this catastrophe to happen."
The statement added that the families were seeking full accountability, initially through the civil case and for Camden Council to investigate Bright Horizons as a corporate entity.
"State institutions must treat this case with the utmost seriousness, act to uncover the full extent of offending, ensure accountability and prevent similar harm in the future," they said.
'Committed to learning lessons'
Bright Horizons said it welcomed and encouraged parent feedback and took parent concerns seriously.
A spokesman has previously said what happened was an "appalling breach of trust by one individual and not representative of the thousands of experienced and dedicated staff who work tirelessly each day to look after the children in our care".
"The safety and wellbeing of children entrusted to our care is our highest priority," he said, adding that the company was "committed to learning any lessons" that could be taken from this "terrible case".
He added the company fully supported the CSPR and hope it would be "beneficial for families, for us as a provider and for the Early Years industry as a whole".
"Parents are invited to contribute to this review and we would encourage them to participate so that information can be obtained and considered," he said.
In a statement, Camden Council confirmed it had launched an independent review and that "protecting the integrity of this process is of the utmost importance".
"The council will continue to consider any appropriate further actions in response to this matter as the review proceeds.
"In the meantime we will do all we can to support and engage the families affected."
A dedicated NSPCC helpline has been set up for anyone affected by Chan's offending, on 0800 028 0828.
