More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A nanny who sexually abused nine children - some as young as two - while working as a babysitter has been jailed for more than 15 years.
Robin Elms sexually assaulted six of the children and one adult and took sick videos of three other youngsters in their own homes.
The 23-year-old was working with families in east Kent and Sussex as a freelance children's nanny and babysitter when the abuse began.
Seven of the children, who were from three different families, plus the adult victim were all from West Sussex and two of the children, from two separate households, were from east Kent, police said.
Five of the children in West Sussex were physically abused and two were victims of voyeurism, while one of the children in Kent was sexually assaulted and one was a victim of voyeurism, according to investigators.
Detectives found the 20 offences happened between 2018 and 2020 against boys and girls aged between two and 14, while Elms was working as a children's nanny after he got a job using online child care agencies.
Elms, from Hunston, near Chichester in West Sussex, had no previous convictions and passed DBS checks because had a clean record, detectives said.
"You groomed the families, moving from home to home, beguiling them and making them feel sorry for you..."
The sexual assault on the man was not carried out while Elms worked as a nanny or babysitter.
He also worked in other non-residential child care, but there is no evidence of crimes committed against any other children, Sussex Police said.
The investigation began when one of the families in West Sussex reported Elms to police last November over a complaint of sexual abuse while he was working with them.
Elms was sentenced to 15-and-a-half years at Portsmouth Crown Court, with an extra five years on extended prison licence once he is released.
Judge Lance Ashworth said as he sentenced Elms: "You groomed the families, moving from home to home, beguiling them and making them feel sorry for you."
Elms pleaded guilty to 20 offences, including 10 counts of sexual assault, five counts of taking indecent videos of children and four counts of voyeurism plus one of sexually assaulting an adult man.
He pleaded not guilty to two counts of taking indecent images of another boy and to one sex assault on a girl he already pleaded guilty to a separate sexual assault charge.
Both these cases were not proceeded with by the CPS and were left to lay on the court file.
The judge also ordered Elms to be put on the sex offenders register for life and handed him a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) to last indefinitely - banning him from being left alone unsupervised with children and restricting his internet access.
Detective Constable Chris Smith of Sussex Police said that Elms manipulated the victims' families to carry out "systematic abuse" of children in their own homes.
"His offences were horrendous breaches of trust, which are every parent's greatest concern..."
He added: "Elms used his access, and the trust placed in him by the parents, to systematically abuse children in their own homes.
"His offences were horrendous breaches of trust, which are every parent's greatest concern.
"He had no previous convictions or any other DBS-related record, and the parents all had found him through reputable child care agencies."
At the sentencing hearing Judge Ashworth also emphasised the families of the victims "had done nothing wrong".
An NSPCC spokesman added: “Elms was trusted by families to care for their vulnerable children. The damage he has inflicted on those families with his despicable record of abuse will be incalculable, but we hope that they are getting the support they need to move on with their lives.
“Our free NSPCC helpline provides adults with a place they can get advice and support, share their concerns about a child or get general information about child protection."
Adults can contact the helpline 365 days a year on 0808 800 5000 while children can contact Childline on 0800 1111.
For information on how we can report on court proceedings, click here.
