How far does the nursery abuse scandal go?

When a Bright Horizons worker was convicted of sexually assaulting children in Hampstead, it was put down as an isolated incidents. Now, a catalogue of failures has emerged at the chain

It was the headline that made every parent’s blood run cold. In February, nursery worker Vincent Chan admitted 56 charges including sexual assault by penetration and possession of indecent images of the children in his care at the West Hampstead branch of the American multi-national childcare provider Bright Horizons.

The offences had been filmed over the course of seven years, adding to Chan’s collection of at least 26,000 indecent images, which included clips of children being raped. It was, according to the Metropolitan Police, “one of the most harrowing and complex child sexual abuse investigations” it has ever taken on.

While a Bright Horizons spokesperson called this “an appalling breach of trust by one individual”, a catalogue of safeguarding failures at outposts both in the UK and the US suggest that their issues go beyond one bad apple.

A number of families are now hoping that there will be criminal action taken against the nursery, whose “safeguarding failures created the perfect hunting ground for a predator”, a statement released by their lawyers read.

That includes Sam Gagen*, whose son Hugh*, then three, began describing Chan as “a naughty guy” three years ago.

Hugh had previously adored 45-year-old Chan, whose illustration skills had made him a hit among the young children in his care. But there came a marked shift, Sam says. Hugh was no longer excited to go to nursery and see his friends. One morning, when Sam shouted to his wife at the other end of their flat, their son cowered in the corner saying “‘Daddy, Daddy, please don’t be like Vince.’”

Vincent Chan (Metropolitan Police/PA) PA Media “I was like, what the f***?” Sam recalls. “Then he said: ‘Vince is mean, Vince hurts people.’”

The Gagens heard of Chan’s crimes via an email from the police. “The first reaction [was] a bit of disbelief, like: ‘Oh my God, how could this happen? Is this true?’ It feels like some television drama that you never imagined you’d ever be involved in,” Sam says. There was anger too, because they had already raised concerns about Chan — whom they considered “weird” — to senior Bright Horizons staff, which were waved away as “just Vince being Vince”. Yet “if anyone was going to do anything to the kids, it would have been him”. Sam and his wife, Cleo*, now believe that Hugh “at very least witnessed violent or sexual abuse,” and “may well have been the victim of some of that [sexual abuse]”.

A Bright Horizons spokesperson said: “First and foremost, our thoughts remain with the children and families affected by Vincent Chan’s crimes... we are truly sorry for the impact it continues to have.