Vanessa George: Paedophile nursery worker’s release must be stopped, says Plymouth MP

The decision to release a paedophile nursery worker from jail because she is no longer a “significant risk” must be reviewed, an MP has said.

Mother-of-two Vanessa George, 49, who worked at Little Ted’s Nursery in Plymouth, took photos of herself abusing toddlers and shared them with other paedophiles..

The judge in her case told her she had “plumbed new depths of depravity” by abusing children in her care.

George – who referred to herself as “paedo whore mum” – got a minimum sentence of seven years in 2009, but the Parole Board has recommended the mother of two is released.

Luke Pollard, MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, has written to the justice secretary to ask for an “urgent review”.

“Vanessa George’s crimes against children in Plymouth cannot be forgotten and it’s very hard to forgive her for them,” said Mr Pollard.

“I know I can’t and that’s why her release from jail is a kick in the teeth for our city and all her victims.

“I am very concerned about the safety of our city’s children with the imminent release of Vanessa George and have written to the justice secretary asking for the decision to release Vanessa George to be urgently reviewed in light of the public outcry and continuing risk to children that I believe she poses.”

A Parole Board spokeswoman said its decisions are based only on “whether a prisoner would represent a significant risk to the public after release”.

“The panel will have carefully looked at a whole range of evidence, including details of the original evidence and any evidence of behaviour change,” she added.

“This is done with great care and public safety is the number one priority.”

George – who admitted using her phone to take up to eight pictures a day of the abuse – has named some of her victims, but was accused of hiding information that would help identify others.

Sentencing her to an indeterminate prison sentence at Bristol Crown Court in 2009, Mr Justice Royce said it was “difficult to accept that she is genuinely not in a position to provide more information than she has”.

He added: “The photographs of children you were abusing did not show their faces.

“Many parents would like to have known. Some would prefer not to have known. Both positions are entirely understandable.

“I make it clear that the revelation of names is not a mitigating factor. It is what anyone with a drop of decency would have done at an early stage, certainly if there was genuine remorse.”

Child protection officers visited 180 children believed to have had contact with George, while staff at the nursery said “a lifetime of childcare had been ruined by Vanessa’s actions”.

(c) Sky News 2019: Vanessa George: Paedophile nursery worker’s release must be stopped, says Plymouth MP