The 22-year-old woman, who worked at two daycare centers in suburban London, admitted to committing such acts against seven children.

Numerous "acts of cruelty." A 22-year-old woman who worked in two nurseries in the United Kingdom was sentenced Friday to eight years in prison for assaulting 21 babies, in what the judge said were "gratuitous" and "sadistic" acts.

Roksana Lecka committed these acts in the two establishments where she was employed between October 2023 and June 2024 in the suburbs of London, Sarah Plaschkes stressed in her decision.

The young woman, who said she was addicted to cannabis, admitted committing such acts against seven children under the age of 16, and the Kingston Magistrates' Court, southwest of the capital, found her guilty of similar acts against 14 others during her trial.

These children were "pinched, slapped, hit, slapped, and kicked. You pulled their ears, hair, and toes," the judge listed, "multiple acts of gratuitous violence" perpetrated while she was out of sight.

Surveillance videos from the second daycare center, Riverside, show Roksana Lecka pinching and scratching children on the arms, legs, and abdomen, and kicking a little boy in the face.

"Slaps and kicks"

Many parents were present in court to witness the verdict and spoke from the stand about the impact of this violence on their children and themselves.

"These children were so innocent, vulnerable. They couldn't speak, couldn't defend themselves (...) they were completely helpless and Roksana attacked them," one mother said indignantly.

The judge described his behavior as "sadistic," while the law firm Irwin Mitchell, which represents 18 of the families, questioned how Lecka's assaults could have gone "unnoticed" until they were discovered in June 2024.

The young woman's lawyer, Arlette Piercy, highlighted the fact that her client had expressed remorse and cited her age as a mitigating factor. Roksana Lecka, for example, stated in a letter to the court that her cannabis use had altered her behavior.

She was also found not guilty of cruelty to three other children.