He denied joining a nursery to have access to children
Rod Minchin, Press Association
15:20, 04 Feb 2026
Partou King Street Day Nursery & Pre-school(Image: Google Maps)
A staff member accused of sexually abusing five toddlers at a Bristol nursery has claimed he only put his hand inside a child’s trousers to check a nappy.
Nathan Bennett, 30, was arrested by detectives after the manager of the Partou King Street nursery in the city centre saw the concerning incident on CCTV in February last year.
The manager immediately sent him home and informed the police and local authority, Bristol Crown Court was told.
The jury was told the CCTV showed Bennett with his hand inside Child A’s trousers for around 25 seconds.
Bennett, of Corston, Bath, was arrested and interviewed by detectives about the contents of the footage. He told police he sat Child A on his lap to comfort him because he had woken up from a nap upset.
The defendant, who is standing trial on charges including rape, sexual assault and assault by penetration, claimed he had put his hand inside the child’s trousers while sitting on his lap to check his pull-up nappy after he had told him his “nappy hurt”.
Asked why he could not do that from the outside, Bennett replied: “Because I couldn’t unroll it from the outside.”
Bennett said he did not think his hand touched Child A’s penis and added: “It would have been inadvertently if it did.
“Maybe inadvertently I might have touched it, I wasn’t paying attention to that part, I am not sure because of the way he sat.”
Asked why it took 25 seconds, Bennett replied: “I just didn’t have the strength to pull it from the outside, I couldn’t pull it properly from the outside, so I just went in a different way.
“It was just a daft decision at that point. I was feeling really icky and couldn’t bring myself to get up at that point.”
Bennett denied that the CCTV footage showed him looking around to check if any staff had seen him with his hand down Child A’s trousers.
A detective asked: “Do you think it was appropriate for your hand to be down his trousers for that long?”
Bennett replied: “No. I was just trying to move it away and get some extra room to make it a bit more comfortable.”
He told police he did not have a sexual interest in children.
He was asked: “Did you join to be a nursery worker so that you could have access to children? In a sexual way?”
Bennett replied: “No.” The jury was told the nursery closed after police launched an investigation.
Bennett denies the following charges:
– Two charges of raping a child under 13.
– Four charges of the sexual assault of a child under 13.
– Two charges of assault of a child under 13 by penetration.
– Three charges of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.
He has previously pleaded guilty to 13 other charges. They were:
– Eight charges of sexual assault of a child under 13.
– Four charges of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.
– One charge of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.
The trial continues.