Sawn-off eagle lectern returned after anonymous call
A hand-carved wooden eagle stolen from a church in Devon has been returned.The sculpture was sawn off a lectern at St Paul's in Yelverton on Monday evening, the Reverend Andrew Thomas said.The West Dartmoor Mission Community said the eagle had been returned to the church after an anonymous caller tipped them off to its whereabouts.It thanked the public for sharing information about its disappearance, adding it was "very grateful".
The church mission said the sculpture had been recovered from outside a house near the church in Yelverton.It said police were still interested in any information relating to the disappearance of the sculpture.
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Daily Mail
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Cannabis-smoking Montessori nursery worker is emotionless as she is shown injuries she inflicted on babies in her care at £1,900-a-month day care - as she is found guilty
Chilling video footage captured the moment a Polish nursery worker sat expressionless as she was shown the injuries she inflicted on 21 babies in her care at a Montessori day care centre. Roksana Lecka was today found guilty of abusing toddlers at the £1,900-a-month Riverside Nursery in Twickenham, south-west London. During a harrowing campaign of abuse the cannabis-smoking 22-year-old kicked one little boy in the face, stepped on his shoulder, and punched a baby after dragging her out of a cot. Concerned parents first began photographing and reporting unexplained injuries on their children's tiny bodies as early as March last year. They watched in horror in court as jurors were shown Lecka's sadistic attacks, including CCTV footage of her kicking the boy repeatedly in the face. She admitted seven counts of child cruelty - but insisted throughout her trial that she was sleep deprived from smoking cannabis all night with her boyfriend. Lecka denied 17 other charges but a jury at Kingston Crown Court unanimously found her guilty. CCTV footage of Lecka in custody shows her devoid of emotion as officers show her images of the injuries she inflicted on babies. The interviewer asks if she has any idea about the injuries and how they were caused, to which she repeatedly replies: 'No comment'. Even when asked how seeing pictures of the infants made her feel, the nursery worker fiddled with her hair and refused to comment. In another video of her arrest on July 5 last year on police body cam, Lecka smirks as officers tell her she is going to be arrested on allegations of her assaulting children. 'I've heard about that, yeah', she says as she nods her head. Parents wept in the public gallery as the verdicts were read out today, while Lecka was also tearful as she was led away to the cells. Staff noticed the children had been scratched and bruised and Lecka was suspended on June 28, 2024. After watching hours of CCTV and reviewing evidence compiled by parents, Lecka was charged with 24 counts of child cruelty. She admitted seven of the charges against her but denied a further 17. Today after nine hours and 53 minutes, jurors convicted her of 14 of the remaining 17 child cruelty counts and acquitted her of three. She was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on September 26. Judge Sarah Plaschkes KC exempted the jury from future service for the next 10 years. There were gasps from jurors and weeping parents in the public gallery as horrifying footage of Lecka's attacks on toddlers, who were left writhing in agony, was shown during her trial. They saw horrifying CCTV footage of Lecka kicking a boy in the face four times before stepping on his shoulder. The trainers she was wearing were later seized by police. In further footage played to the court, Lecka can also be seen pinching the legs, back and underarm of a young girl who is crying from the pain. There were also clips of her pinching the side of a girl's face and grabbing her hair. She is seen vaping in another clip before grabbing a baby out of a crib and pinching and punching the baby. Lecka was 'looking around' at other members of staff to see who was 'watching these assaults occur', the court heard. But the 22-year-old, who moved to Britain from Katowice in southern Poland when she was three, explained away each sickening act of violence with a chilling nonchalance. She had told the jury: 'I can't remember the things I was doing because I was smoking cannabis that was affecting my memory.' Giving evidence in a smart black suit jacket over a black top, her blonde hair tied back in a neat ponytail, she claimed that an alleged pinch to a boy's stomach was simply a tender hug. A rough yank on a boy's hair was a 'ruffle with my fingers.' A series of violent jabs to another toddler's stomach that left his abdomen black and blue were just 'playful pokes to the side,' she insisted. A baby Lecka smacked twice around the face while puffing on her vape was actually only crying because 'she was distressed having just woken up from a nap'. And a sickening moment when she threw a girl onto a mat had merely been some 'rough handling,' she declared. The former beauty worker changed several pleas to guilty just before her trial begun, having been shown enhanced CCTV that irrefutably illustrated her crimes. She desperately sought to rationalise her behaviour with a series of pathetic excuses, including that she would get 'moody' if she could not smoke her vape at work, did not have enough sleep, was still feeling the effects of cannabis smoked the night before and had been suffering from period cramps. 'At that time I was really addicted to vapes, I would smoke two little crystal disposables a day,' she told the court. 'I was vaping in nursery. Because if I did not smoke I would get agitated and fed up. I couldn't keep asking to go to the toilet. Any opportunity I would take. I would be really moody and fed up. 'It would be a couple of puffs and then I'd put it away… I would put it in my bra.' In the week of her suspension, Lecka claimed she had been 'over-prioritising' her boyfriend. 'I was with my boyfriend every night. I was addicted to him,' she said. In her prepared statement, Lecka denied assaulting any children at the Riverside Nursery. When asked in court if it was a lie, she said: 'I was not lying because I was unaware of what I was doing and the things I was doing, I can't remember the things I was doing because I was smoking cannabis that was affecting my memory.' She added: 'The amount of cannabis I was smoking was still affecting me, in that period of time.' Prosecutor Tracy Ayling told jurors that smoking cannabis and not being able to vape were 'excuses'. She added: 'It is clear her actions are deliberate or at the very least careless, but on most occasions we say deliberate. 'There are, of course, some clips where Ms Lecka - as we put it - keeps going back for more.' Her own evidence was damning of the chaotic environment at Riverside Nursery, part of a prestigious group of educational institutions run by Dukes Education. Lecka admitted she hadn't bothered to complete her online safeguarding modules, and staff turnover was so high that workers were constantly training others while on the job. She said she would frequently take toilet breaks to smoke a vape she kept in her bra, which she was seen on CCTV smoking next to children, and would take cannabis with her boyfriend – sometimes before work. Despite this she was praised by management as a model employee and recalled: 'They had experience with people my age or younger who wouldn't stick to the job or do it properly but [head teacher] Noor one day called me into her office and said I was doing really well, she's really proud of me. 'She had even bought me pink roses. 'She said if I continued to do so well she would sort it for me to do Level 3 childcare courses if it was something I wanted.' That she was held in such high esteem goes some way to explain why staff were for so long unable to link her to the horrific injuries suffered by children in their care – injuries that for months were explained away to parents as innocuous accidents. As consultant paediatrician Dr Stephen Rose told the trial, they should have recognised that wounds including bruised earlobes, torsos and thighs must have been caused deliberately. 'Ears do not get injured or bruised accidentally…if it is a bruise it was caused non-accidentally or deliberately inflicted,' he said. 'The side of the torso is relatively protected by the arm, so it is not an area that is bruised accidentally.' Dr Rose added that marks on a child's thigh had likely been caused on purpose because toddlers who fall backwards land on their bottoms, not their thighs. Lecka, who has two younger siblings, was supported throughout the trial by her mother. The Polish national, who studied beauty at Kingston College and worked as a babysitter, barmaid and at a laser removal clinic before getting her job at the nursery, will be sentenced at a later date. A spokesman from Riverside Nurseries said: 'This has been a distressing case, particularly for the children and families directly affected. Our thoughts are first and foremost with those families. 'Following concerns raised by Riverside Nursery staff, the individual was suspended and ultimately charged with offences against a number of children at the Nursery. Although Roksana Lecka was not convicted on all charges, today's verdict confirms the seriousness of those concerns. 'Situations like this are deeply upsetting and represent a profound breach of trust in a professional. We recognise how difficult this has been, in particular for the children and families directly involved. 'Creating places in which children are happy, safe and able to thrive is our top priority, and we will do everything in our power to protect that.' Gemma Burns, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'Lecka repeatedly showed exceptional cruelty in her appalling treatment of these babies. 'No parent should have to fear leaving their child in the care of professionals, but the sheer scale of her abuse is staggering. 'The CPS put forward compelling evidence that clearly showed her targeting children when colleagues were either out of the room, or had their backs turned. 'We also called on experts to prove that the injuries Lecka's victims sustained were consistent with pinch marks. 'Lecka was placed in a position of trust and her job required her to provide safety and protection. Instead, she kicked, scratched, and pinched these young children, with this vile abuse of vulnerable victims continuing for many months.' Lecka will be sentenced on September 26.
The Guardian
13 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Casey report forces Starmer's hand on issue that has haunted Labour for decades
Louise Casey's decision to recommend a national inquiry into grooming gangs has forced Keir Starmer's hand on an issue that has haunted the Labour party for decades. The failings of UK institutions to protect young girls from widespread abuse by gangs of men will remain high on the political agenda for another three years. A 197-page report produced by Lady Casey has called for wholesale changes to rape laws; requested that criminal convictions applied to abuse victims be quashed; and suggested that five existing local inquiries into grooming gangs be coordinated by an independent commission with full statutory inquiry powers. But it is the issue of the ethnicity of the perpetrators that will resonate as the most explosive political issue arising from its pages. Casey could only find data from three forces, but, using publicly available material from the police and reports, concluded that suspects were disproportionately likely to be Asian men. The impression remains that Casey's conclusion – that a three-year, time-limited national inquiry must be launched – has caught the prime minister on the hop. Once again, he was forced into what appears to be a damaging U-turn. Some Labour MPs have said that a prime minister more attuned to his 'red wall' backbenchers would have ordered an inquiry after taking office in July, and claimed credit for grasping an issue that the Tories ignored for years. Instead Starmer in January refused to endorse demands led by Elon Musk who was backed by the Tories, Reform and some Labour backbenchers for a national inquiry into grooming gangs. . Launching another inquiry comes with some jeopardy for Starmer. It will likely be seized upon by the far right and used to galvanise activists such as Tommy Robinson. Casey's report calls for a radical improvement in the collection of data, particularly around ethnicity, because two thirds of police forces have failed to record the ethnicity of perpetrators. Casey argues that there is enough evidence from just three forces to show 'disproportionate numbers of men from Asian ethnic backgrounds amongst suspects'. She also claims there are a 'significant number of perpetrators of Asian ethnicity identified in local reviews' and 'high-profile child sexual exploitation prosecutions' to warrant further inquiries. There are concerns that community tensions may increase after the identification of 'men from Asian ethnic backgrounds' as groomers, at a time when there has been a record rise in anti-Muslim incidents across the UK. Police continue to worry that there could be a repeat of last summer's riots, which were inspired by far riot conspiracy theories around immigration and the identity of the Southport killer. It could also risk smearing Asian and Pakistani males as potential paedophiles, despite evidence to the contrary. The available data is patchy, but a November report by the child sexual exploitation taskforce suggested that a higher proportion of perpetrators of all forms of child sex abuse are white. Asked by the Guardian if highlighting the issue of ethnicity could lead to civil unrest, Casey said that new data must be investigated. 'If good people don't grip difficult issues, in my experience bad people do,' she said. The inquiry itself will examine the policies and decisions made by social workers and youth workers employed by predominantly Labour councils. Questions will be raised about what local MPs – often Labour MPs – knew, and why they failed to expose it. The worth of launching another expensive inquiry into child sex abuse has already been questioned by some of those who initially exposed grooming gangs. A seven-year national statutory inquiry, the independent nquiry into child sexual abuse, chaired by Prof Alexis Jay, covered the time period investigating abuse in children's homes, the church and Westminster and scrutinising institutional responses to child sexual exploitation – including grooming gangs. It involved more than 7,000 victims and survivors of child sexual abuse, including through the Truth Project, which gave survivors the opportunity to share their experiences and put forward suggestions for change. Nazir Afzal, the prosecutor who helped to jail members of the Rochdale grooming gang, said he has 'pragmatic doubts' about launching another national inquiry, adding that they were costly and lengthy, and could not bring people the accountability they wanted. He said: 'People want accountability. I'm not sure people's expectations will be realised. Only criminal investigations can bring real accountability. That's what needs to happen. Not just for those who offended, but also those who stood by and didn't do what they were meant to do. 'Unfortunately my experience with national inquiries is that they take forever and don't deliver accountability.' In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800; adult survivors can seek help at Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International
BBC News
15 minutes ago
- BBC News
Police appeal after attempted rape at Finchley Road cinema
Detectives have released CCTV footage of a man they wish to speak to following an attempted rape at a cinema in north-west London, on Wednesday afternoon.A woman in her 30s reported that a man seriously sexually assaulted her at a cinema on Finchley Road on 11 June at about 15:45 BST, the Metropolitan Police Ch Insp Paul Ridley said: "This horrific attack happened in the middle of the day in a busy establishment - highlighting the brazen and opportunistic nature of the offender."It is really important we find this man as soon as possible." In the footage, a man is seen leaving the venue after the incident and walking south down Finchley Road towards Swiss is described as in his 50s, approximately 5ft 6in, with a slim build and has dark hair on the sides of his is wearing a black North Face coat and glasses in the CCTV Ch Insp Ridley said: "We are steadfast in our commitment to take those who pose the biggest threat off our streets, so women and girls in London can feel safe going about their daily lives."He urged anyone who may have any information, particularly if they were on Finchley Road on Wednesday afternoon, to contact police.
