A father's anguish: Justice feels hollow as a nursery worker convicted of horrific child cruelty is set for deportation, not prison. Imagine the sheer devastation of enduring a harrowing trial, reliving unimaginable trauma, only to learn that the perpetrator of such "sadistic" acts against your toddler will walk free, serving little to no time for their crimes. This is the bitter reality for the father of a young child abused by a nursery worker, who is understandably "upset and frustrated" that Roksana Lecka, a Polish national, is being deported to Poland on Thursday, a mere five months into an eight-year prison sentence.
Lecka was found guilty last June on 21 counts of child cruelty by a jury at Kingston upon Thames crown court. Her offenses, committed at two London nurseries in 2023 and 2024, involved smacking, punching, pinching, and kicking children as young as 18 months old. The sentencing judge, Judge Plaschkes KC, did not mince words, describing her actions as "gratuitous violence" and "sadistic." A severe sentence of eight years in prison was handed down in September.
But here's where it gets controversial: Despite this lengthy sentence, victims' families were informed last week that Lecka is being deported under the government's early removal scheme for foreign offenders. This scheme, unfortunately, does not mandate that the remainder of a sentence be served in the deporting country. This means Lecka is effectively being released from custody with no further punishment in the UK.
The father shared his profound disappointment, stating that the relief felt after the sentencing, believing the ordeal was over and the family could begin to heal, has now been replaced by "upsetting and frustrating" news. He questioned the purpose of the entire legal process: "All the work that was done, the public money that was spent, the trauma of sitting through the trial, seeing all the evidence – now all of that seems a bit pointless, because the actual sentence is not being served."
And this is the part most people miss: Beyond their personal pain, the victims' families harbor a deep-seated fear that Lecka could re-offend in Poland. "Lecka was refused bail on multiple occasions during her period in pre-trial custody, identified as a flight risk and a risk to the public," the father explained. The initial concern was her fleeing to Poland, a fear that now seems to have been realized, albeit through official channels. "After all this time, pain, the vast expense and emotional trauma of the investigation, trial and sentencing, we effectively end up at the same point. All we have as victims is the verdict and the notion of a sentence. Justice has in this case sadly not been done."
Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham, echoed these sentiments, reporting that victims' families are "horrified." She highlighted the core issue: "Let's not forget she was convicted of child cruelty to 21 babies. The families want justice to be served, but many of them are also concerned that she may go on to harm children in Poland and elsewhere."
While acknowledging the pressure on prison capacity and the government's desire to deport foreign nationals quickly, Wilson argued, "Victims want to see justice done. This policy potentially means that serious offenders are evading justice, and that seems pretty unfair."
Following parliamentary inquiries and correspondence with the Home Office, Ms. Wilson learned that due to time spent on remand before her trial, Lecka became eligible for deportation on October 7, 2025, just under two weeks after her sentencing. She will be permanently barred from returning to the UK.
Recent amendments to the early removal scheme have reduced the minimum proportion of a sentence foreign offenders must serve before deportation eligibility from 50% to 30%. Further changes on the horizon will permit deportation immediately upon sentencing, a move critics argue effectively allows criminals to escape justice.
Sarah Singer, a professor of refugee law at the School of Advanced Study, University of London, offers a stark perspective: "These early removal schemes are a really blatant example of the administration prioritising removals over criminal justice. They think it would be a political point scorer, but for the families of the victims this is deeply distressing."
She suggests, "It seems that that interest in removing people from the UK dwarfs any interest in ensuring people serve prison time. I’m sure that it’s also informed by the overcrowding crisis that we have in prisons at the moment. But they’re simply trying to offload the problem. It doesn’t actually address the issue."
Does the push to deport foreign offenders, even those convicted of serious crimes, undermine the very concept of justice for victims? Should the focus be on serving sentences or on immediate removal? We invite you to share your thoughts below.
