Victim of children’s home sex abuse scandal housed in flat overlooking building she was abused in

A woman who was sexually abused in a children’s home has been “begging” a council for three years to be moved away from a flat which overlooks the building where the abuse took place.

Julie Bull, 45, who lives in Loughborough Junction, was a victim of child sexual abuse at the nearby South Vale assessment centre and Angell Road children’s home.

Both homes were included in an independent inquiry into child sexual abuse which found 705 children under the care of Lambeth council had been abused in five homes between the 1960s and the 1990s.

Many years after leaving the Angell Road children’s home, the council moved Ms Bull into a two-bedroom council flat in an estate opposite it.

Ms Bull said her housing situation is making her mental health dramatically worse. She suffers from PTSD, depression and anxiety.

Ms Bull, who has waived her right to anonymity to speak to the South London Press, said: “My mental health issues began when I was put in the children’s home in 1985.

“I was sexually abused by a member of staff at the children’s home and an older boy who was in their care.

“And then the council put me across from it. I can see it from my kitchen window when I’m washing up.

“I feel scared. One time I had to walk past and I felt like someone was going to come and grab me and take me inside.” 

Angell Road children’s home was shut down in 1995, and has since been converted into flats.

Ms Bull said: “I know the children’s home isn’t there anymore, but I can still see it. I have begged and pleaded with the council but they don’t listen or care.

“The council have treated me so badly – it feels like a punishment that they’ve put me in here.

“They haven’t once told me they could move me, they just keep saying they can’t do anything.”

Ms Bull is also dealing with ongoing disrepair to her flat.

She said: “I now share a bedroom with my seven-year-old, my 19-year-old has the other room and my 23-year-old sleeps in the living room. We are overcrowded.

“I can’t share a room with my daughter anymore. I am crying every night and I don’t know what to do.

“I don’t want to be in this flat, it’s not suitable. I’ve been bidding for three years and have got nowhere.”

Ms Bull’s front door has been broken for a year, the walls have mould growing on them, there is a draught that runs through the house and her door entry system stopped working two months ago.

She said: “The bottom lock on my front door doesn’t even lock properly.

“Two months ago I reported the entry system as broken, and still nothing, so I’ve been missing packages.”

The estate Ms Bull lives on is managed by the Loughborough Estate Management Board (LEMB). Despite her complaints, none of these damages have been seen to.

The inquiry into the council, concluded in October last year, examined three other homes – the Shirley Oaks complex, Ivy House and Monkton Street.

Shirley Oaks and South Vale were found to have been “brutal places where violence and sexual assault were allowed to flourish”.

Lucia Hinton, from the Shirley Oaks Survivors Association (SOSA), said: “After the SOSA report and the national inquiry, Lambeth council clearly understands that former children in their care suffered. 

“Along with Shirley Oaks, the children in South Vale suffered extreme abuse and it’s obvious that living next to the place where you suffered childhood sexual abuse clearly has brought on a recurring trauma.  

“We hope that Lambeth council will consider Julie as a priority for relocation on the grounds it was their failings that led to the original trauma.”

A Lambeth council spokesman said: “We’re disappointed that Ms Bull is unhappy with the service she has received and we are sorry that there have been delays in carrying out the works required on her flat.

“However, as the homes on this estate are run by a Tenant Management Organisation, rather than the council, the LEMB will arrange and complete these repairs.

“We are aware of the concerns expressed by Ms Bull over the location of her current home, and we appreciate the trauma she has experienced. 

“We have given specialist support and provided advice on the housing options available to her. 

“We offer our tenants the opportunity to transfer to a new council home, but due to the shortage of social housing and the size of the council housing waiting list, these transfers can take some time to arrange.”

The LEMB has been approached for comment.

Pictured top: Left, Angell Road, the care home where Julie Bull, right, was sexually abused as child (Picture: Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse/Julie Bull)