Nursery worker sentenced to 30 years for raping children

An "evil" nursery worker has been handed a 30-year sentence for sexually abusing children in what was described in court as "every parent's nightmare".

Nathan Bennett was convicted in February of multiple counts of sexual abuse, including two counts of rape, against five boys at Partou King Street Nursery in Bristol. The victims were two and three years old at the time.

The 30-year-old, of Corston near Bath, had previously admitted 13 other sexual offence charges relating to four of the boys.

Handing down sentence, His Honour Judge William Hart described Bennett as "evil" and an "incorrigible and dangerous paedophile".

Warning: This story contains distressing details

The judge said Bennett had been "lurking, ready" to abuse children and "pollute their innocence" with his "own vile desires".

The judge explained Bennett would serve at least two-thirds of his 30-year sentence behind bars.

Bennett began working at the nursery in July 2024.

In February 2025, concerns were raised over his behaviour with the children, specifically a group of five who the prosecution said he would "favour".

He was suspended from the nursery after CCTV of him putting his hands down a boy's trousers was reviewed.

The nursery informed the council's Local Authority Designated Officer - who deals with allegations against adults working with children - and Avon and Somerset Police were alerted the following day.

After a six-month criminal investigation, he was charged. Ofsted closed the nursery in December 2025.

During the sentencing hearing, the court was read a number of statements from the victims' parents by prosecuting barrister Virginia Cornwall.

The mother of Child E, who described her son as a "hilarious, cheeky, happy little boy," said his trust had been "manipulated and ultimately destroyed".

"What will our son remember as he grows and as he understands the impact of the abuse? We will not truly know the impact of Nathan's actions for many years," she said.

The father of Child B said he felt "dead inside" after learning of what had happened to his son, while his mother said she had "screamed and cried".

They added that the trauma of the case had led to the loss of a job, and in "desperate need of therapy" they could not afford to pay for.

The parents of Child C, who described their son as a "sunny child", said Bennett had "seemed clumsy but very paternal", which was something they initially liked.

They explained that their child had become "obsessed" with Bennett as he was groomed, becoming "a different person".

"Since we found out that our son was involved, our emotions have changed," they added. "We were distraught at the start and now we are angry."

Det Insp Lucy Forde, from Avon and Somerset Police, said officers spent "hundreds of hours" watching CCTV footage from the nursery's 18 cameras to isolate Bennett's offending period and the children affected.

But, according to the force, the footage only spanned back a month before it was overwritten.

Forde described the footage as "absolutely sickening".

"It is him offending against children in the middle of the nursery in sight of other children.

"There is nothing that could prepare you for seeing that," she added.

A total of four victims were identified through CCTV, and a fifth came forward after confiding in their parents what had happened.

"My worry if there will be other victims that we haven't been able to identify, that are too young to understand what's happened to them," Forde said.

The force has now opened a public portal for parents with children that attended the nursery can log any concerns and speak to specially trained officers from its child protection team.