Sexual assault case

A female nursery worker has arrived in court facing charges over indecent images of children and sex abuse.

Vanessa George, 39, from Plymouth, travelled to the city's magistrates court in a marked police van with blacked-out windows.

Ms George, who worked at Little Ted's nursery in Plymouth, is charged with two counts of sexual assault by touching, two counts of sexual assault by penetration, as well as making, possessing and distributing indecent images of children.

Detectives revealed that some of the images could have been taken within the nursery at the centre of the investigation.

Acting Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Middleton said: "It's safe to say we believe some of the images would have been taken within the nursery - but others it's impossible to say where those would have been taken."

He added: "We are focusing on our attempts to identify the children contained within the images. This is a very difficult task due to the nature of those images.

"At this time we have been unable to identify any individual children. And it's right to say that some images may never be identified."

The nursery, which operates from an adjoining school and church, remains closed.

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Tracey Storey from law firm Irwin Mitchell said:

"Sadly, police investigations such as this remind us all of how stringent child protection policies need to be and how careful nurseries have to be in the recruitment and selection of staff.  Child abuse in the 21^st century not only involves acts of abuse but the proliferation of child pornography via the internet.  Anyone viewing such material is essentially looking at a crime scene and creating a market for those abusing children directly."

If you or a loved one has been the victim of child abuse, our specialist child abuse lawyers could help you get justice and claim compensation. Call 0370 150 100 to talk confidentially to someone about making a claim or visit our Abuse & Criminal Injury Claims page for more information.