Roksana Lecka: Child care worker disappears in Poland after UK fails to secure arrest following deportation

A convicted child abuser, who was jailed for brutally assaulting 21 babies, has vanished after a deportation blunder left authorities unable to arrest her when she returned to Poland.

Roksana Lecka, 23, was sentenced to eight years in prison in Britain after admitting to seven child cruelty offences and being convicted by a jury of another 14.

But instead of remaining behind bars, she was deported early under a prisoner removal scheme, only for officials in Poland to discover they had no legal authority to detain her.

Her crimes horrified Britain after CCTV footage captured months of abuse inside Riverside Nursery in Twickenham and Little Munchkins nursery in Hounslow.

The former nursery worker was seen pinching and scratching babies beneath their clothing, kicking children who were lying on the floor, pushing toddlers headfirst into cots, shoving another child onto a mattress and covering a crying child’s mouth.

Investigators also alleged she vaped inside the nursery and blew smoke towards children’s beds.

Police began investigating after colleagues noticed Lecka acting unusually during a shift before another staff member reported she had pinched several children.

Reviewing days of CCTV footage, detectives uncovered repeated assaults on infants, many carried out while colleagues had their backs turned or had briefly left the room.

The shocking administrative error has left authorities unable to track her whereabouts and raised fears she could seek work with children again.

The case has sparked outrage after Polish officials revealed Britain failed to use the formal international prison transfer process, The Sun reported.

Instead, Lecka was removed through a unilateral deportation procedure, meaning no legal documentation accompanied her arrival and no arrest warrant was waiting when she landed.

Major Dagmara Bielec, a spokesperson for the Nadwislanski Border Guard Unit, confirmed the failure.

“A Polish citizen expelled from Great Britain has returned to the country,” she said.

“But her arrival did not take place under any of the formal international cooperation procedures in force between Poland and Great Britain.”

Polish authorities also said Lecka’s details had not been entered into the relevant criminal databases or international alert systems, leaving border officers with no legal grounds to stop or arrest her.

Instead, she entered the country through routine border procedures before disappearing.

The safeguarding failure has intensified concerns because Polish authorities have also been unable to alert childcare providers to her criminal history or monitor where she is living.

Gemma Burns, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said Lecka had “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 said.

“Instead, she kicked, scratched and pinched young children, with this abuse continuing over many months.”

Lecka’s whereabouts are now unknown.