17-year-old charged for raping and sexually abusing children at a nursery

An underaged sex offender has been charged with multiple acts of sexual abuse as well as the rape of minors. Devon and Cornwall police started investigating Jack and Jill Childcare following sexual abuse allegations. The 17-year-old offender will be appearing in Youth Court for criminal proceedings. Police have urged media and the public to keep the identity of the offender private, as the offender is a minor as well.

In July 2019, several parents accused the teen of inappropriately touching children at the nursery in Torquay. Devon and Cornwall police shut down the nursery as they investigated the accusation.

By going through closed-circuit television footage of the nursery, they found evidence of the suspect sexually abusing children below the age of five. At least eight children were reportedly sexually abused by the teen.

Police, local authorities, National Health Service (NHS) Devon Clinical Commissioning Group and Ofsted were involved in the probe. The Sun reported that apart from the abuse of the children in the nursery, the suspect was also found responsible for two counts of historic rape not linked to the nursery. Since the offender is under the age of 18, he will be treated as a minor.

The probe also investigated the owner of the nursery, John Nelson. John, his wife Pam, and their daughter, Lindsay, were not believed to be involved in the heinous crimes that took place in the nursery. All 52 pupils of the nursery were informed of the investigation and the findings of the probe. The nursery has remained closed since last summer.

Devon and Cornwall police spokesperson did not reveal the youth court where the teen will be tried. The date of the trial has also not been fixed. The spokesperson emphasised on the laws regarding the identity protection of a minor. They urged the media and the members of the public to not speculate on the identity of the individual, Devon Live reported.