A teenage nursery worker has been jailed for 10 years after using his position to rape and sexually abuse children as young as three.
Thomas Waller raped and sexually assaulted one boy and sexually assaulted another in a nursery just three weeks after starting a job there.
Waller, now 18, was sentenced to 15 years for raping one boy and inciting both boys to engage in sexual activity. He also had explicit photos of one victim on his phone.
He will serve 10 years in youth custody and five years on licence.
The court heard that, newly qualified to work with young children, Waller gained the trust of the two boys at the nursery before carrying out his despicable crimes.
The teenager was working at a nursery for the summer months, and his responsibilities included taking children to the toilet and helping them get changed, Guildford Crown Court was told.
He was arrested after both children told their parents about what had happened to them while at the nursery.
In a victim impact statement, one of the victims’ mothers told Guildford Crown Court: ‘I could not believe that I was hearing.
Thomas Waller (pictured), a teenage nursery worker, has been jailed for 10 years after using his position to rape and sexually abuse children as young as three
‘I wanted to have misheard him or misunderstood. He did not know that what had happened was wrong but he knew it was different and wanted to share it.’
She said: ‘My son is a kind, trusting boy and this man took advantage of that innocence and abused it.’
She said it was horrific that her ‘beautiful, brave, young son’ had questioned his own accountability of being raped by Waller, who is now 18.
She said Waller created the opportunity to abuse her son and had deliberately befriended him.
She said: ‘He had the skills to build a rapport with children and take advantage of them.’
It was ‘premeditated and calculated’, she told the court.
She added: ‘We do not know what the long term impact on our son will be. I don’t think he will forget what was done to him.’
The father of Child D told the court he could not come to terms with how ‘calculated and sinister’ Waller was.
When previously asked by the BBC whether he had anything to say to the parents whose children he abused, Waller gave a ‘no comment’ response before getting in a car
Fighting back tears, he said: ‘His behaviour was that of an experienced paedophile.
‘He groomed our son by finding the things that he loves. It was cold, calculated and sinister.’
He said the offences had caused a ‘devastating impact’ on his family and ‘taken the innocence’ away from a young boy.
The court heard the rape and sexual assaults happened just weeks after Waller had been given a placement at the nursery.
Rio Pahlavanpour, prosecuting, said Waller had undergone an extensive college course and had obtained the qualifications necessary to work in a nursery.
He said: ‘His tasks at the nursery included taking the children to the toilet and supervising their getting changed if required. Child D and Child T both attended the nursery.’
He said: ‘Child D made disclosures to his mother during the bedtime routine.’
Police were called the same evening and Waller was arrested the following morning at the family home in Surrey.
Reading her impact statement to the court, the mother of Child T, said Waller had robbed her three-year-old son of his ‘innocence’ and left the family devastated and anxious.
She said: ‘This man knew exactly what he was doing. His actions were deliberate and calculated. He preyed on young children. All children deserve to be safe from him.
‘The scars are not physical but emotional and psychological. He took the innocence of a three year old boy away. Every day I worry this will impact him for the rest of his life.’
She said she suffered ‘anxiety and guilt’ as a parent for failing to protect her son from harm. It’s the worst thing that can happen to a child. It will follow him for the rest of his life.
‘It makes me feel like I failed in ways that i will never be able to fix. When I close my eyes I picture what could have happened.’
She said she suffered sleepless nights and bad dreams and had a feeling of constant ‘helplessness’.
‘The nightmares are real, they are consistent and they don’t go away,’ she added.
Wearing a hooded puffa jacket, white polo shirt and dark trousers, Waller sat impassively in the dock and hung his head as the parents of his victims addressed their comments to him. There was no one from his family in court to support him.
Waller went on trial before a youth court at Staines Magistrates Court in July, charged with the rape of a boy under the age of 13, two counts of inciting a boy under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity and taking indecent photos of a child.
He was found guilty on July 31, with the mother of one victim telling the court Waller was ‘a very dangerous individual’.
Afterwards, she told BBC South East: ‘That he can do this at such a young age and in such a calculated way, I find very frightening.’
She said of her son: ‘He told me, in three-year-old terms, that he’d been sexually assaulted at nursery by one of the staff, which was very shocking for me to hear.
‘On hearing that, I stayed very calm and asked him some questions about what he was telling me to try to get him to repeat it, and I was really questioning him in different ways to see if his story would stay the same and consistent, which it did.
‘In fact, he was adding more and more explanation of what happened.’
Waller has now been sentenced to 10 years in a young offender’s institution and additional five years on licence for rape, five years for the first count of incitement, four years for the second count and 12 months for the indecent images. The sentences will be served concurrently.
Judge Claire Harden-Frost told Waller: ‘You used your position at the nursery to sexually abuse both of them.
Thomas Waller was told he will serve 10 years in youth custody and five years on licence
‘It is heartbreaking that as a result of your actions their parents feel personally responsible. They feel guilty for making the decision to send their children to nursery.
‘You committed four offences against two children. You were at work. You should have been looking after them. You committed the offences in breach of trust.
‘Within days of being able to supervise children going to the bathroom, you committed rape and other sexual offences It would have involved you manipulating the children to do what you wanted them to do because of your sexual interests.’
A spokesperson for the nursery, which cannot be named, said: ‘We were, and remain, deeply shocked, saddened and sorry to learn of the actions of a former member of our staff. The safety and wellbeing of the children in our care is, and always will be, our highest priority.
‘As soon as concerns were raised, we took immediate action, contacting the police without delay, suspending the individual concerned, and fully cooperating with the investigation. We remained in regular contact with all relevant authorities and, although information was limited, we made every effort to keep our parents informed throughout.
‘Since then, we have carried out a full review and further strengthened our already robust safeguarding policies and staff training. We continue to work closely with the local authority and safeguarding professionals to ensure we uphold the very highest standards of care and protection for every child entrusted to us.
‘Our thoughts remain first and foremost with the two children and their families affected. We have provided, and continue to provide, support to them, to our wider nursery community and to our staff.’
Jonathan Hulley, Surrey County Council cabinet member for children, families and lifelong learning, said: ‘I am appalled by the crimes committed by Thomas Waller and extend my deepest sympathies to the children and families affected.
‘As the local authority, we were informed by partners when these disclosures were first made about an individual working in a private nursery in Surrey.
‘We immediately undertook our duties to support the actions of safeguarding partners, and of Ofsted as the regulatory body for Early Years settings.
‘Our role has included coordinating information sharing and actions between relevant bodies as well as supporting the setting to implement actions identified for them by Ofsted.
‘The wellbeing and safeguarding of children and young people is our absolute priority.
‘I would encourage anyone with concerns about someone who works with children and young people to contact the Local Authority Designated Officer or Surrey Police.’
Detective Superintendent Kate Hyder said: ‘This deeply distressing case is every parent’s worst nightmare.
‘The offences were committed when the children were just three years old. Thomas Waller had multiple opportunities to show remorse or account for his actions. He has chosen to remain silent.’
