A Polish nursery worker who allegedly abused 24 toddlers claims she was sleep deprived from smoking cannabis and staying up late with her boyfriend and would get 'moody' and 'fed up' if she couldn't vape at work, a court heard.
Roksana Lecka is accused of 'badly harming' 23 of the infants, all aged 18 months to two years, at a £1,900-a-month Montessori nursery in Twickenham, south-west London.
The 22-year-old denies 16 counts of child cruelty, but has admitted seven similar offences, while working at the Riverside Nursery between January 31 and June 28 last year.
She is charged with a 24th count of child cruelty in October 2023, at the Little Munchkins Montessori Nursery in Hounslow, west London, which she also denies.
Lecka, who is from Poland but moved to the UK with her parents when she was younger, is accused of leaving 'bruises' on the children by using 'significant force' when pinching, slapping and grabbing them.
