Nursery worker, 23, who abused 21 babies in UK walks free after she was deported to Poland 'without proper paperwork'

By SOPHIA STANFORD, NEWS REPORTER Published: 17:42, 25 June 2026 | Updated: 17:42, 25 June 2026 A nursery worker jailed for eight years for abusing 21 babies has walked free in Poland after British officials reportedly deported her without the paperwork that would have allowed local authorities to arrest her on arrival. The whereabouts of Roksana Lecka, 23, in Poland are now unknown, and the mix-up means she could in theory even get another job in childcare despite assaulting and mistreating babies while working at Riverside Nursery in Twickenham and Little Munchkins in Hounslow, London, UK. She was sentenced to eight years in prison after admitting seven child cruelty offences and being convicted by a jury of a further 14. But her case caused outrage in the UK after she was deported to Poland under early removal procedures before serving her full sentence. And in a further twist, reports in Poland now claim she is not in custody because Britain used a unilateral deportation procedure rather than a formal prisoner-transfer process. That meant Polish authorities had no automatic legal power to detain her when she landed. A spokesperson for the Polish Border Guard, Major Dagmara Bielec, of the Nadwislanski Border Guard Unit, told local media: 'A Polish citizen expelled from Great Britain has returned to the country, but her arrival did not take place under any of the formal international cooperation procedures in force between Poland and Great Britain.' Polish reports also say Lecka was not entered into the relevant criminal databases or international alert systems in a way that would have allowed officers to act immediately. Roksana Lecka, 23, carried out a campaign of 'sadistic abuse' in which she punched, kicked and smacked 21 babies as young as ten months old at two London nurseries But in a further twist, reports in Poland now claim she is not in custody because Britain used a unilateral deportation procedure rather than a formal prisoner-transfer process Officials said that because there was no official documentation from the UK regarding her expulsion, and no corresponding entries in national or international law-enforcement systems, border guards had to process her under normal entry procedures. Major Bielec said officers therefore had no legal grounds to detain her on arrival and allowed her into Poland. The case has raised serious safeguarding concerns because Polish services are reportedly unable to monitor her movements or warn childcare institutions about her past convictions. Her current whereabouts remain unknown, although she is reported to have landed at Warsaw Airport after being removed from Britain. The revelation comes only days after the parents of Lecka's victims described her deportation as 'really hard to swallow', and are calling on child abusers to be made ineligible for early release. One parent also accused the Government of focusing 'too much on cost savings, rather than upholding the principles of the system'.  The Labour Government introduced the scheme in 2024 after prisons across the United Kingdom became severely overcrowded. One mother of a son Lecka left with heavy bruises said she was 'utterly dumfounded' to hear of the criminal's deportation, revealing that her child is still traumatised.  Lecka was arrested in the UK after a colleague reported that her behaviour had been unusual and 'flustered' during a shift at the nursery. She was sent home, and another member of staff later reported that she had pinched a number of children during the same shift. Metropolitan Police officers reviewed CCTV footage from several days in June 2024 which showed Lecka pinching and scratching children under their clothing on their arms, legs and stomachs. Several children were seen being pinched dozens of times during the day, with most crying and flinching away from her afterwards. Screengrab from handout file CCTV footage issued by the Metropolitan Police of Roksana Lecka during a police interview Lecka was caught vaping just inches away from sleeping children in CCTV footage shown in court The footage also showed other incidents, including kicking a child who was on the floor, pushing children headfirst over cots, shoving another child onto a mattress in a sleep room, and covering a toddler's mouth as he began to cry. Additional footage allegedly showed her vaping inside the nursery and blowing vapour towards the children's beds. During her trial, the 23-year-old tried to justify her behaviour by claiming she was sleep deprived from smoking cannabis all night with her boyfriend. She told the court: 'I can't remember the things I was doing because I was smoking cannabis that was affecting my memory.' Meanwhile, shocking police interview footage showed how the woman seemed 'bored' and showed no emotion as the gravity of her criminality was laid bare. One clip showed Lecka appearing to play with her hair while she was asked about a baby 'on a mattress, he seems to be crying'. When Lecka did not respond, a female officer paused to say: 'Sorry am I boring you?' Additional footage showed the Polish international repeatedly responding 'no comment' to every question lodged by police. The vicious nursery worker also showed little to no emotion when pictures of the injuries she caused children in her care were shown to her. Gemma Burns, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'Lecka repeatedly showed exceptional cruelty in her treatment of these babies. 'No parent should have to fear leaving their child in the care of professionals, but the scale of her abuse is staggering.' She added: 'The CPS put forward compelling evidence showing she targeted children when colleagues were either out of the room or had their backs turned. 'We also called on experts to demonstrate that the injuries sustained by the victims were consistent with pinch marks.' Burns continued: 'Lecka was placed in a position of trust and her role required her to provide safety and protection. 'Instead, she kicked, scratched and pinched young children, with this abuse continuing over many months.' Footage shows Lecka being taken into custody by police officers before being moved for questioning. She is later seen inside a police interview setting as officers carry out formal questioning. Following the investigation, Lecka was charged and later convicted in relation to offences involving child cruelty. She was deported under early removal procedures after serving only part of her prison term in the United Kingdom. Her case has since been widely discussed in relation to safeguarding procedures and the handling of foreign offenders convicted of serious crimes involving children. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.