Nursery worker Jayden McCarthy denies sex offences

A teenager has denied abusing children at the nursery at which he worked and has told a jury there is "no truth at all" in the allegations against him.

Jayden McCarthy, 18, told Exeter Crown Court the incidents of which he is accused "never happened".

He faces one charge of rape and 13 of sexual assault at the privately-run nursery in Torbay in 2019.

Mr McCarthy is also charged with two counts of rape in a separate incident five years previously.

He was shown 13 CCTV clips taken in July 2019 which allegedly show him touching eight children inappropriately.

He told the court that he was within the line of sight of other members of staff on all occasions.

Asked by defence counsel Mr Nick Lewin if there was any truth in the allegations, he replied: "None at all".

He also rejected allegations that he abused a boy several years earlier and said those alleged assaults "never happened".

The prosecution say he made a girl take part in a sex act while changing her clothes in a toilet area which was not visible to other staff.

Mr McCarthy told the jury he had a difficult childhood because his mother suffered from mental illness and struggled to look after him.

He said he applied for a job at the nursery which he liked because it had a "homely vibe" and he started as an apprentice in March 2019.

The trial continues.

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