By Ben Kerrigan-
This is Vincent Chan,(pictured) the paedophile nursery worker who has shamefully pleaded guilty to 26 sexual offences against children following one of the Metropolitan Police’s most harrowing and complex child sexual abuse investigations.
Chan, 45, (pictured)of Finchley, worked at a nursery in north London between 2017 and 2024. The footprint of his of his offences were all over the scene of his crimes, that this social misfit was compelled to admit all the charges on his charge sheet. The horror of his crime shas left a whole community horrified, and put the British public in a state of utter schock and disbelief.
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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. Chan is to be sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court on 23 January.
The Met described the situation as one of its most harrowing and complex child sexual abuse investigations.
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Chan was unmasked as a paedophile after a nursery staff member reported that he had callously filmed a child falling asleep in their food with a nursery-issued device and set it to music for “comedic purposes” before sharing the video with his colleagues, the force said in a statement.
He was subsequently arrested in June 2024 on suspicion of neglect and officers seized 25 digital devices from his home and three from the nursery. Chan was released on bail, but lost his job at the nursery. Three months later, his devices were submitted for analysis by police, which was completed in July 2025.
Forensic teams found substantial amounts of indecent images and videos of children, including evidence of contact sexual offences against children, according to the police statement.
Chan was arrested in September this year on suspicion of sexual offences. Officers seized another 26 devices from his home as well as 15 from the nursery, a since-closed branch of Bright Horizons in West Hampstead.
“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 offences to which Chan, who was an early-years practitioner and nursery nurse, pleaded guilty include five sexual assaults by penetration of a child between two and four years, four sexual assaults, 11 counts of taking indecent photos, and six of making indecent images of children.
He had passed enhanced vetting to get the job in 2017, had worked in a school previously and had no criminal record.
Det Supt Lewis Basford, who led the investigation, said: “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.
“Our investigation remains ongoing, and we are continuing to review digital devices and assess Chan’s conduct across all relevant settings.”
It was by chance that the danger Chan posed was discovered. In 2024 he was reported over a safeguarding concern when it emerged he had made videos mocking the children in his care. He was arrested in June 2024, and suspended from his job.
In September 2024 his electronic devices – phones, laptops and memory sticks, as well as 15 iPads from the nursery, 69 devices in total – were sent for digital examination. It was not until September 2025 that evidence on the devices of his sexual abuse of children was found. He was charged on 9 September 2025.
Basford said: “We recognise the member of staff who raised their concerns, as without that first report of child cruelty Chan’s abuse could have continued unchecked, putting countless more children at risk. These appalling offences have caused deep shock and distress.”
The Met said 700 parents of children who passed through the nursery from 2017 to 2024 had been contacted.
Basford said for parents: “Uncertainty will remain as to whether their child may have been harmed.”
Bright Horizons, which says it runs about 300 nurseries and preschools in the UK, said: “We are shocked and appalled by this individual’s horrific crimes.
“This individual’s actions represent not only a violation of the victims, but also a profound betrayal of the trust placed in him by families and colleagues.
“We have extensive safeguarding practices in place, designed to create safe environments for children to learn and grow. While this individual’s actions came to light after a colleague raised concerns and followed our whistleblowing 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.”
Sentencing will be on 23 January and the judge told Chan he faced a long time in prison. He was remanded in custody pending sentencing.
DCI Basford added: “We recognise the member of staff who raised their concerns, as without that first report of child cruelty, Chan’s abuse could have continued unchecked, putting countless more children at risk.” At this time, police identified four children as Chan’s victims.
The families of the victims have been contacted directly and are receiving specialist support, while the NSPCC is running a helpline for all 700 families of children who attended the nursery during the time Chan worked there between 2017 and 2024.
In a statement issued through legal firm Leigh Day, some of the families affected said: “As parents, we are still trying to process the sickening discovery that our children were subjected to despicable abuse by Vincent Chan at the nursery.
“We trust the judge to pass the strongest sentence to fit the crimes Vincent Chan has committed against young children, innocent victims who could not fight back.”
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