WHEN nursery worker Bessie Martin told bosses she had concerns about the odd behaviour of her colleague Nathan Bennett their response was that she was “imagining it”.
But underneath their noses, the sick paedophile was preying on the children in his care for months before he was eventually suspended and later found guilty of sexually abusing five boys aged two and three.
Nathan Bennett told police he preferred working with children Credit: PA
The fiend abused five kids at Partou Nursery in Bristol Credit: Avon & Somerset Police
Bennett preyed on the five youngsters while working at Partou King Street nursery in Bristol for a year back in 2024.
The 30-year-old’s “predatory behaviour” was captured in sickening CCTV, which eventually led to his reign of terror finally being exposed.
But it is alleged by an ex-colleague that there were several missed opportunities to stop the sick predator in the months before his arrest in February 2024.
Former nursery worker Bessie Martin, who says she raised her concerns with bosses, told how Bennett would appear to hold children for longer than required, often sitting them on his lap, out of view of CCTV.
She says the young children would try to “wriggle away”, but he commanded them to stay put.
Speaking to the BBC, she claims her concerns weren’t acted on until she filed a whistleblowing report – and even then, he was allowed to return to work shortly after being suspended.
Two weeks later, CCTV captured him putting his hands down a child’s trousers. He was suspended and arrested the next day.
During his trial, nursery manager Victoria Tutton, who was known as Vera, also told how Bennett would “favour” certain children, preferring to read them stories or sit with them.
She said a local authority safeguarding concern was raised about Bennett in early February after a complaint from a parent about his “interaction” with their child.
The court heard that on February 26, Bennett was seen on CCTV groping a child, so was sent home by Ms Tutton.
Another nursery worker, Elizabeth Burton, said in a written statement she began to witness “strange behaviours” by Bennett – including being “territorial” with some of the kids.
She added: “He seemed to have a group of five children that he had a jealous attachment with. He would take control of them.
“His behaviour would be over-affectionate with them, as well as having them sat on his lap, he would kiss them on the face, like on the cheek or forehead.”
She said Bennett would wear the same pair of trousers to work, which were full of holes, including the crotch area.
“I would not wear them to work because they were not suitable, and I tried to encourage him to buy a new pair,” Ms Burton added.
Concerns were also raised by parents about Bennett’s behaviour towards the children in his care before his arrest.
One mum told the court how her son had demonstrated how he had been abused at nursery.
Another said Bennett often worked alone in the mornings, when the kids arrived.
In March, Bennett was sentenced to 30 years in jail.
Partou nurseries told the BBC it has “strengthened safeguarding governance further and enhanced oversight across the organisation”.
It is one of England‘s biggest nursery providers with more than 100 sites.
Leigh Day, who represented the families, said: “We are devastated by the horrific abuse children have suffered at the hands of someone whom we all trusted to care for them.
“Nothing can begin to explain the shock, anger and heartbreak we feel – or the profound and lasting impact we are sure this will have on families.
“Thankfully, these crimes have been brought to light, and Bennett has been held accountable for the horrendous breach of the trust placed in him by parents and carers.
“The children were innocent and completely vulnerable; they were in a place that should have been safe.”
Nursery worker Bessie Martin said Bennett would hold children for too long, often sitting them on his lap, out of view of CCTV Credit: Enterprise
The Partou nursery was shut down in December 2025 Credit: Google
The families also said they want answers over how “someone like Nathan Bennett was able to work with young children”.
In footage released by police after Bennett was jailed, he could be seen wearing a palm tree top as he was interviewed in custody.
He was asked whether he “joined to be a nursery worker so that he could have access to children” – to which he responded “no”.
But when the officer questioned whether he found it “easier to be around children”, Bennett agreed and said: “Yes, but in a professional way”.
The fiend previously pleaded guilty to 13 charges involving five children aged two or three.
Bennett was also convicted of two counts of rape, four counts of sexual assault and two counts of assault by penetration.
Passing sentence, Judge William Hart described Nathan Bennett as an “incorrigible and dangerous paedophile”.
He added: “Watching, as we did in this trial, the closed-circuit television footage of the little children at King Street nursery running around and playing brings a smile to the face of any decent person and any parent… happy, innocent toddlers in a secure setting.
“But the children we see were not secure.
“They were at risk because, unknown to staff and parents, you were lurking, ready to abuse them and to pollute their innocence with your own vile desires.
“The simple fact of the matter though is that you prioritised your own sexual satisfaction over the welfare of these little children and that was due to your grossly distorted thinking and a degree of, to use an old fashioned word, evil.”
Bristol Crown Court heard Bennett, who had started working in the nursery in July 2024, had a “sexual interest in pre-school boys”.
