Boy, 3 instructed mum going to bathroom ‘makes me unhappy’ as nursery employee on trial for intercourse assault

A three-year-old boy has given evidence in the case of Nathan Bennett who denies 11 charges including rape and sexual assault at a Bristol nursery after the boy gave a harrowing account to his mum

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A three-year-old boy has testified in the trial of a nursery worker accused of sexually abusing five toddlers under his care. Nathan Bennett, 30, denies 11 charges, including rape, sexual assault and assault by penetration, all linked to a nursery in Bristol.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to 13 other charges involving five children aged two or three at the time. On Tuesday afternoon, a video interview recorded with one of the children was shown to the jury at Bristol Crown Court.

Judge William Hart informed jurors that he had decided there was “no evidential value in cross-examining” the child, but said this did not mean Bennett accepted what the boy alleged. “It is recorded evidence of a very small child,” the judge added.

The boy, who cannot be identified and is being referred to in court as Child E, detailed how he had been sexually assaulted by Bennett. “Then I turned around and he was gone,” the boy said.

The boy told police the incident took place in the “toilet area” of the nursery. When asked if anyone else was present, he replied: “No. All the children were out playing.”

He was questioned about whether the incident took place on one occasion.

“More but only two times,” he said. The boy, who played with playdough during the interview, said he had not told anyone about what happened at the time.

At the beginning, he was shown a video on an iPad explaining the difference between truth and lies and told he must only tell the truth.

On Tuesday, Child E’s mother recounted how her son had revealed the abuse whilst she was helping him use the toilet. She explained how he had shown her what had happened to him, saying: “I don’t like it, it makes me sad.

“Obviously I was horrified,” she told the jury.

“I got him to stop doing it. I asked him when did that happen. He said it happened at nursery. He said it was the man with the watch.

“He specifically referenced the man with the watch, which we immediately knew who he was talking about because when he was being cared for at nursery by Nathan, he had a smart watch which Child E really liked.

“He used to let him play with it on a regular basis.”

The mother, who alerted police following her son’s revelation, said he appeared “upset” during their chat.

“He was sad,” she said. “He didn’t cry but he was definitely sad and quiet. After we had the conversation, I said: ‘We won’t let that happen again’, and gave him a big hug.”

Child E’s mother said she would frequently see photos of her son sitting on Bennett’s knee at the nursery and that he had provided the family with his mobile number as “he would like to do some babysitting for us”.

She described how on one occasion, Bennett told her son “love you” as he was leaving..

Opening the case on Monday, Virginia Cornwall, prosecuting, described it as “every parent’s nightmare”.

Bennett began working at the nursery in July 2024 and had previous experience in other pre-school environments. Ms Cornwall stated that Bennett, through his guilty pleas, had “an admitted sexual interest in pre-school boys”.

“The Crown suggests he was able to exploit a sexual interest, and had access to, by his employment as an early years practitioner,” she informed the jury.

A safeguarding concern regarding Bennett was flagged up in early February of the previous year. He was promptly sent home on 26 February, after nursery manager Victoria Tutton, known as Vera, allegedly saw Bennett on CCTV placing his hand down a child’s trousers.

The jury heard that the nursery shut down following the initiation of a police investigation.

Bennett, from Corston, Bath, denies the charges:.

– Two counts of raping a child under 13.

– Four counts of the sexual assault of a child under 13.

– Two counts of assault of a child under 13 by penetration.

– Three counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

He has previously pleaded guilty to 13 other charges, which include:.

– Eight counts of sexual assault of a child under 13.

– Four counts of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

– One count of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

The trial continues.