Vincent Chan – Finchley, North london

A nursery worker who filmed himself sexually abusing four children has pleaded guilty to 26 offences in what has been described as “one of the most significant and disturbing child protection cases in recent history”.

Vincent Chan, 45, a British national of Chinese heritage, abused children as young as three years old during nap time and took images of them in distress while using a work iPad.

Chan was arrested in June 2024 after a member of staff reported that he had filmed a child falling asleep in their food and set it to music, before showing the clip to a colleague.

He was initially held on suspicion of neglect and released on bail.

He lost his job at the nursery in West Hampstead, north London, which has since closed.

Following Chan’s arrest, officers seized 25 digital devices from his home and three from the nursery and discovered a cache of “deeply disturbing” material.

Over the course of their “highly complex” investigation, the police seized a total of 69 devices from his property, including hard drives and laptops, to uncover the extent of his offending.

He is known to have abused at least four small girls while working at a nursery between 2017 and 2024.

Chan, from Finchley, pleaded guilty to 26 offences relating to sexual assault offences against children and the taking and making of indecent images of children.

The offences comprised 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.

Wearing a grey tracksuit, Chan confirmed his identity and entered guilty pleas in front of the families of some of his victims who were present at Wood Green Crown Court.

Families of the victims have been contacted directly and are receiving specialist support, and the NSPCC has opened a helpline for all 700 families of children who attended the nursery during the time Chan worked there.