Vanessa George, 49, has been released from prison, it emerged this morning
Britain’s most notorious female paedophile Vanessa George has been released from prison – despite having never revealed how many children she actually abused.
George, 49, a former nursery worker, was jailed for a minimum of seven years in 2009 after she sexually assaulted up to 30 babies and toddlers in her care.
She photographed herself abusing the children at Little Ted’s nursery in Plymouth and then sent the images to other paedophiles she had met online.
In July, despite outrage from her victims’ parents and MPs, a Parole Board panel ordered her release after she’d served 10 years behind bars.
George convinced the board to release her after having treatment to boost her ‘self-esteem’.
Victims’ parents are furious that she still won’t reveal how many children she abused or which children were her victims.
Following her release today, a father who had a child at the nursery, told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme that he was ‘disgusted’.
The Probation Service said she will not be allowed to return to Devon and Cornwall
Crowds gather near a van containing Vanessa George as it is driven from Plymouth Magistrates Court, June 11, 2009. She was charged with making and distributing indecent images of children and assault by penetration
The father added: ‘I knew this was coming, but to find out on the day it’s already happened has made it worse. Again, no consideration for the victims.
He previously told the programme: ‘Our sentence is still carrying on. The only time she’s feigned remorse is in her first interview.
‘I believe that woman is still a danger to children. She’s had those urges before. I don’t think they will ever go away. I think there’s a very, very strong possibility she could do it again.’
A father of another potential victims claimed he would kill her if he ever saw her out on the street.
The father, who still does not know if his daughter was one of the victims, said earlier this month: ‘The whole process from start to finish has been a mess. She should never be released.
‘The parents, myself included, have been offered no support. We’ve had this dropped on us and just left. Only the probation service have offered some support.’
CCTV footage of George on the phone to her lawyer while in police custody in Plymouth
Luke Pollard, Labour MP for Plymouth, said: ‘I am disgusted that serial child abuser Vanessa George is being released early today.
‘Vanessa George only served ten years and is being released early. The victims and their families now have a life sentence ahead of them of not knowing whether it was their child who was abused or not.
‘Vanessa George chose not to end the suffering of these families or give them any certainty. She should not be released because she has not named her victims.
‘The parole conditions mean she can never return to Plymouth, Devon or Cornwall. But she will have to settle somewhere and they need to have the resources to ensure she has no contact with children or can make contact with her victims.
‘People I know in Plymouth share in my anger, frustration and disgust. I firmly believe that Vanessa George should be behind bars, not walking our streets. This is a dark day for British justice.’
Police believe George came into contact with nearly 200 children while working at Little Ted’s in Plymouth (pictured) with at least 30 victims
A court artist’s sketch of George (centre) with her co-defendents Colin Blanchard (left) and Angela Allen (right) in 2009
George, who still weighs more than 18-stone, will be banned from returning to Plymouth or having any time alone with children.
In an unprecedented open letter to Vanessa George’s victims earlier this month, the Chief Probation Officer Sonia Crozier assured family members that she will be put under ‘extremely strict’ restrictions when she leaves prison within days.
In the letter, Miss Crozier said she knew George’s release was worrying to the people of Plymouth, ‘where memories of her abuse are still vivid and frightening’.
But she said the Parole Board had imposed an ‘unusually large’ exclusion zone preventing the criminal from returning to all of Devon and Cornwall.
One of George’s family members, who does not wish to be named, said: ‘There are so many people who feel very strongly about what she did. It’s no wonder they are stopping her from coming back to Devon. It’s probably safer in prison for her.’
In 2009, George admitted 13 sexual assault charges, but maintained a silence over the names of children she assaulted.
Child protection officers have visited 180 children thought to have had contact with George, and 21 families have taken up an offer of support.
George’s co defendant Angela Allen, who raped a girl of three, has already served the five-year minimum of her sentence imposed at the same time.
The ringleader of the paedophile gang, Colin Blanchard, will be eligible for parole next year after being jailed in 2011 for a minimum of nine years.
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