Lesbian nursery manager cleared of child cruelty charges
April 1st, 2010 by Martina.Booth
A nursery manager who said allegations of child cruelty were made against her because of her sexuality has been cleared of all charges.
Laura Pettitt, 27, was accused of dropping, shaking and force feeding ten children in her care at Little Stars Nursery in Bromley, south London, between January 2006 and November 2008. She worked at the nursery for seven years and was in charge of babies and young toddlers.
A jury at Croydon Crown Court found her not guilty of all counts after a week-long trial.
When she was arrested and interviewed by police in January 2009, Pettitt claimed her colleagues made up the “malicious” allegations after they found out that she was a lesbian.
The prosecution told the jury that stress and boredom had driven Pettitt to commit acts of cruelty, which included forcing youngsters to eat their own vomit, holding blankets over the faces of children who refused to sleep and shaking a premature baby.
“She did not care about or care for those babies as she was supposed to do,” said Tanya Adkin, prosecuting. “She lost interest in them and her job.”
Simon Taylor, defending, told the jury that prosecution witnesses had put on a “sinister interpretation” on everyday events such as babies being sick and crying.
He added that Pettitt was not a “monster”, but a “victim of a whispering campaign of lies and exaggeration”.
Outside court, Pettitt said she was relieved her ordeal was over.
“I just want to get on with my life - it’s been on hold for two years,” she said.
“The whole thing was ridiculous. It was concocted by these two girls. I don’t know if it was because of my sexuality.”
Her sister, Amy Pettitt, said: “We all know what Laura’s like and we know she’s a lovely person, so we have stuck by her.”
Little Stars Nursery said in a statement: “It is a position of great privilege and responsibility to care for young children, and their safety and security is of paramount importance to us.
“We are committed to supporting all our parents and children and are not in a position to comment further on the details of the case.”
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