Additional Coverage:
- Daycare worker who abused 21 babies freed early from prison after serving 15% of sentence (themirror.com)
Parents of infants abused by a former daycare worker in west London have expressed outrage over her early deportation, calling the decision “horrendous.”
Roksana Lecka, a 23-year-old Polish national, was found guilty of physically abusing 21 babies at two nurseries in London between October 2023 and June 2024. The abuse included punching, kicking, and smacking the young children. Last September, she was sentenced to eight years in prison.
However, it has now emerged that Lecka was deported to Poland in February after serving just 14 months of her sentence-less than 15 percent-due to an Early Release Scheme implemented by the government. The Ministry of Justice confirmed she is banned for life from returning to the UK.
Lecka pleaded guilty to seven counts of cruelty and was convicted of 14 additional charges. One father of an abused child described her early deportation as “completely inappropriate” and “really hard to swallow.” He highlighted how the early release undermined the emotional toll and effort that families endured during the trial process, including preparing witness and victim impact statements.
A group of parents affected by this case is now calling for changes to the Early Release Scheme, urging that individuals convicted of child abuse and other serious offenses be excluded from early release provisions. The scheme was introduced by the Labour government in 2024 to ease prison overcrowding, but critics argue it has come at the expense of justice for victims.