Shirley Oaks abuse victim: 'He took me back to the children's home and asked why I hadn't taken my clothes off'
Shirley Oaks victim: 'I am proof the care system does not work'
Filmmaker Bill Maloney: 'Hundreds of people have yet to come forward about abuse at Shirley Oaks'
Abuse at Shirley Oaks Children's Home took many forms
'They did things to me when they turned off the lights. Now I am petrified of the dark' - victims of abuse at Shirley Oaks Children's Home speak out
"MY son once asked me why I leave the light on at night and I told him I do it because of my childhood," said 50-year-old Pauline Gocan.
"I didn't tell him it was because of Shirley Oaks. They did things to me when they turned the light off. Now I am petrified of the dark."
Pauline and her five brothers and sisters were placed at Shirley Oaks Children's Home in Wickham Road, Croydon, when their mother was diagnosed as schizophrenic in 1967.
She suffered physical, emotional or sexual abuse at the hands of staff and visitors to the home, which rarely fell below 400 children on roll before it was closed in 1983.
This week Pauline, her brother Leigh, 53, and sister Yvonne, 48, have waived their legal right to anonymity to talk, for the first time, about their experiences. They are among half a dozen victims who agreed to speak to the Advertiser this week after reading author Alex Wheatle's account of being sexually assaulted by a doctor at the home run by Lambeth Council.
Their stories provide compelling evidence to support his claim, made in a national newspaper, of systemic abuse at Shirley Oaks, and their call for a new investigation.
Pauline met our reporter at her home in Brixton. Before describing her experiences at Shirley Oaks she asked Leigh to leave the room, as there are details she still feels unable to share with him. "I don't know where to start," she said. "I don't know how to put it into words. I don't have memories, I have nightmares."
When Pauline and her siblings first arrived at Shirley Oaks they were separated and placed among the 38 cottages where the children lived.
Only six years old at the time, she recalls being sexually abused by "big people" who would regularly visit the dormitory at night.
"They would come and do things," she said. "They would make us do things. They were sexually abusing me. When we were allowed out into the gardens, I would refuse to go back inside. Their response was to drag me back into the house and beat me. They used to hit me all the time. Sometimes it was the back of the hand, others a slipper. Beatings were all I knew. The house mother was a wicked woman."
Like other victims who have chosen to speak out, Pauline felt unable to tell anyone about what was happening – even the other children.
"I don't know why I didn't talk about it. Maybe it's because they were always threatening to lock me up. So I stayed silent and carried the shame with me until 2011."
It was only then, 35 years later, that her doctor advised her to seek counselling. The therapist was the first person she told about being sexually assaulted. "It helped me to say what I wanted to say without fear of being locked up," she explained.
A decade earlier, Pauline and several of her brothers and sisters spoke about some of their experiences to police officers assigned to Operation Middleton, an investigation into child abuse at several south London children's homes, including Shirley Oaks. "The police listened to me but I didn't get justice. Some did, but not me."
Pauline has since pursued every conceivable avenue to find answers and closure, including small claims court action against Lambeth Council and an appeal to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. She was offered £3,600. "I didn't take it, I thought it was an insult," she said.
She wrote to David Cameron, with no success, before a solicitor agreed to review her case, only to tell her she had exhausted all her options. A few months later, in a moment of despair, she shredded the paperwork she had collected over a 22-year period.
"I had done all that work but nothing had come of it," she said. "I saw the system as what it is. It's fraudulent and fake. I wanted to get rid of every piece of evidence that I had been a part of it. I destroyed it and tried to get on with my life."
Then, last week, she received a message from another victim. "Shirley Oaks is on the front page of the Mirror," it read. "Spread the word."
The spotlight was back on the children's home thanks to writer Alex Wheatle. The father of three said he was "convinced" a network of paedophiles were operating in the home and that "the authorities knew about it at the time but did nothing".
He described how "strange, nameless men" would visit the cottages, including a swimming instructor later convicted of abusing children at Shirley Oaks, including Pauline's sister.
"When I read the story I knew it was my opportunity to come forward," said Pauline, who rang the number at the end of the article and was advised by a reporter to contact the police.
Last Saturday, an officer visited her home to speak about her allegations. "It went very well. He said he couldn't promise anything, but that's the story of my life – there have never been any promises. I thought I had gone down all the legal avenues but the article has opened the way for me to come forward and say: 'I want justice'."
Whether or not Pauline and other victims will get the answers they are looking for is unclear. The recent public inquiry, set up to examine how public bodies dealt with sex abuse claims, has provided another glimmer of hope. For now they live with the long-term effects, not just of deliberate cruelty, but of a childhood in care.
"I was groomed to be a nasty person and my fight is not to be that way," said Pauline. "All the things that happened to me when they came into my bed during the night, and all the beatings I took, groomed me to be bad.
"I was a child brought up in the system and then left to fend for myself. I've made a lot of errors but I can admit my mistakes.
"Now it's time for those involved to do the same. It will only take one person to do what is right and maybe things can start to change."
Anyone who wishes to report an allegation of historic sexual abuse is urged to contact the police on 020 7161 0500. If you can help with the Advertiser's investigation email gareth.davies@croydonadvertiser.co.ukTransfer talk: Crystal Palace in battle with promoted duo for Tottenham star
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Two arrested and drugs and cash seized in Croydon cannabis factory raid
TWO men were arrested and cannabis and cash were seized after police raided a drugs den in Waddon yesterday (Thursday).
Officers from Croydon's Crime Squad carried out a search warrant at a premises in Claydon Drive early yesterday morning, after intelligence suggested it was being used as a cannabis factory.
During the search, police found more than 50 cannabis plants growing inside, along with items including fans and heaters used in the production of cannabis. Around £3,000 in cash was also found by officers.
Two men, aged 23 and 61, were arrested on suspicion of production of cannabis. They have since been bailed to return to a south London police station in late September, pending further enquiries.
PC Garret Sheridan, from Croydon's Crime Squad, who led the operation said: "The presence of any kind of drugs in a neighbourhood will have a negative impact on that area. There are the direct effect of associated crime or antisocial behaviour, but in the case of cannabis factories in particular, there are also the very real danger of fire, as cannabis factories are usually set up with lots of fans, heaters and electrics, that can then go on to cause serious fires.
"We would urge local residents and communities to get in touch with us if they suspect the presence of drugs in their neighbourhoods, whether drugs are simply being used, or if they're being supplied or produced. We'll look into any information we receive and will take positive action like we have in this case, where appropriate."
Anyone with information about drugs can contact their local police team by calling 101 or by calling Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Croydon fraudster Neelam Desai's confiscation hearing delayed
VICTIMS of a fraudster's holiday scams will have to wait longer to learn whether they will get any of their money back.
Neelam Desai, 34, was jailed for 30 months in May for ripping off customers of her discount travel business.
They were offered cheap flights and trips but, when the deals fell through, Desai tried to pay them back by borrowing huge sums of cash and writing fraudulent cheques from her mother's account.
After she was jailed, the Crown Prosecution Services started confiscation proceedings against her to determine whether she has assets that could be used to repay her victims.
A date for the confiscation hearing was due to be set today (Friday) but a judge at Croydon Crown Court heard the police had yet to start the process because the officer in charge of the case had been "particularly busy".
Judge Stephen Waller excused the delay as "slippages" in confiscation hearings are common because the matters are usually "very complicated".
He added: "I can hardly think of any confiscation hearing I've been involved in where there has not been a slippage on one side or the other."
Desai, of Beulah Grove, Selhurst, was present in court for the hearing, which lasted just a few minutes.
Abigail Penny, her barrister, said Desai had been "progressing well" in prison.
The confiscation proceedings will next come before the court on October 10.
Desai was sentenced to 27 months after pleading guilty to four counts of fraud, three of handling stolen goods and one of doing business while bankrupt. She was handed a further three months for breaching a suspended sentence.
The former travel agent and classroom assistant is currently on police bail after being arrested on suspicion of ten counts of fraud by false representation following an investigation by the Advertiser into a series of dating website scams.
Court date set for Thornton Heath kidnapping case
THE case of a man charged with kidnap, assault and GBH following an incident in Thornton Heath was heard at court today.
Police were called to reports that a woman has been assaulted in Brigstock Road, at 11.10pm on July 10.
When they went to a house in nearby Seneca Road to arrest the suspect, officers were confronted by a pit bull-type dog, which armed police shot and killed.
Steven Bennett, 40, of Seneca Road, Thornton Heath, was charged on July 11 with assault by penetration, kidnap and GBH with intent.
He was due to appear via video link at Croydon Crown Court (today) but, due to technical difficulties, the hearing went ahead in his absence.
There was no indication of plea or application for bail.
Bennett will remain in custody ahead of a plea and case management hearing on October 9.
Killer who missed sentencing captured but brother still on the run
A KILLER who failed to show at his sentencing has been captured by police but his brother also convicted of the same offence is still on the run.
Valodia Tarasov, 35, of Abingdon Road, Norbury, and Jurius Tarasov, 33, of Brixton, were convicted yesterday along with their other brother, Viktoras Tarasov, 39, of Aurelia Road, Croydon of the manslaughter of Pawel Pacholak, 37.
The brothers were all due at the Old Bailey today to hear their punishments but only Viktoras appeared. Valodia was found and arrested by police this afternoon but Jurius remains at large.
A warrant remains out for Jurius and police are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.
Viktoras and Valodia have been remanded pending sentencing at an unknown date.
Mr Pacholak died after falling out of a window on January 13 last year in Streatham High Street trying to flee the brothers.
The Tarasovs were beating the victim up after they wrongly accused him of stealing a mobile phone.
Mr Pacholak had landed face-down after jumping from the window and broken his neck.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 999.
South Norwood man loses appeal against sentence for killing police officer
A SOUTH Norwood man who bragged he'd be "on telly all over the world" after killing a police officer has lost an appeal against his jail term.
Gary Cody, 26, was jailed for eight and a half years in February, after he mowed down PC Andrew Duncan in Reigate Avenue, Sutton, on September 20 last year.
Lawyers argued at the Court of Appeal last Friday (July 25) that his sentence should be reduced, because he hadn't been given enough credit for pleading guilty.
But appeal judges dismissed this and agreed with the original sentence imposed on Cody, who was travelling at 88mph in a 40mph when he ran down PC Duncan, who was on traffic duty at the time.
At his original court hearing, it was revealed Cody, of Holland Road, South Norwood, drove off after hitting the police officer.
He then phoned his father and said: "I've done it this time, I've hit a copper."
His father told Cody to hand himself in, which he did that afternoon.
Kingston Crown Court also heard how Cody's prison warden had reported a "degree of satisfaction at his notoriety" in jail.
Cody was said to have boasted to his warden: "Do you know who I am? I am the one on the news who ran over the police officer. I am probably on telly all over the world."
PC Duncan, 47, a married father of two, died of chronic brain, neck, chest and pelvic injuries.
Crystal Palace fans on tenterhooks as Steve Parish promises 'announcement'
OOOH Steve Parish - you big tease.
At around 2.30pm on Friday afternoon, the Crystal Palace co-chairman tweeted: "Stand by for an announcement."
But two and a half hours later at 5pm, no such announcement has been forthcoming, leading to some amusing suggestions and conversations between Eagles fans on Twitter - speculating seriously and not so seriously about what the news might be.
@MPE14 wrote: "Rochdale have signed Calvin Andrew.. is this the big announcement we are waiting for? #cpfc"
@ohsouthlondon Tweeted: "Marco Gabbiadini was actually Marcia Gabbiadini and was the inspiration for hollywood blockbuster 'She's the Man' #cpfcannouncement #cpfc"
The only news from the Palace official Twitter feed since Parish's teaser has been the relase of a YouTube video about the Eagles squad visiting the steps in Philadelphia made famous by the Rocky films.
The most likely content of the announcement is that Palace have completed the signing of Cardiff striker Frazier Campbell, heavily linked with a move to Selhurst Park in recent days.
But some are hoping for more dramatic transfer news, with @samjordan Tweeting: "Ronaldinho isn't playing in Deco's testimonial match tonight. Read into that what you will."
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Croydon school employed teacher - even though they knew he'd been sacked for a YEAR-long text relationship with pupil, 13
TRINITY School appointed a teacher who was dismissed from his previous job for texting a 13-year-old girl for more than a year – despite repeatedly being informed of his misconduct.
Ben Laundon, 41, was appointed to take the Combined Cadet Forces and Duke of Edinburgh Scheme at the £13,000-a-year Trinity School in Shirley in 2008 after he was dismissed from Caterham School for "gross misconduct".
Last year it emerged Mr Laundon had been accused of forcing himself on a schoolgirl in 2006 – something for which he was later acquitted.
But in a written reference from Caterham School, seen by the Advertiser, from 2008, Trinity were told Mr Laundon had been dismissed on May 18, 2007, for "conducting himself inappropriately and unprofessionally with a thirteen-year-old girl in his tutor group over a 15-month period".
In a statement released at the time defending his appointment, Trinity head teacher Mark Bishop referred to Mr Laundon as only having sent a singular 'message' to a girl last year.
Mr Bishop told the Advertiser this week he accepted he should have said 'communication' rather than 'message'.
But he maintained his stance from last year that the key issue for him when he appointed Mr Laundon was this communication was not of a sexual nature and he would not have been appointed to Trinity otherwise.
Mr Bishop added: "There is no question that Mr Laundon made a very serious error of judgement while at Caterham but, in my view, he had learnt from it and indeed throughout his employment at Trinity his conduct was impeccable."
Mr Laundon, who now runs personal training company Corpus Fitness from his home in South Croydon, left Trinity in the wake of the allegations for which he was acquitted in 2011.
Mr Bishop knew Mr Laundon from his own time at Caterham School but, according to another letter seen by the Advertiser, Trinity had not initially requested a written reference from his previous employer.
Sue Herbert, from Surrey County Council Safeguarding Service, wrote to Mr Bishop on January 29, 2008, and said this was in breach of the guidance under the Education Act 2002 in respect of safe recruitment.
Mr Bishop said: "In response to the letter from Surrey Safeguarding, as I immediately explained to the head of safeguarding, I had, in fact, taken a verbal reference from Caterham.
"She was then completely satisfied that it was appropriate for me to appoint Mr Laundon given the full risk assessment that had been carried out."
Mr Bishop also said the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Education and Surrey Safeguarding all had a "clear and consistent view" after examining the reasons for Mr Laundon's departure that he "was suitable to work with children".
Gavin Barwell, Croydon Central MP and Trinity chair of governors at the time of the appointment, said he had "nothing to add" to Mr Bishop's comments.
Mr Laundon did not respond to a request for comment.
Croydon rapper mourns loss of 'inspirational' grandad
A HIP-HOP artist from South Croydon who sampled his grandad's music has paid tribute to his "inspiration" after he passed away.
Ryan Junior Matthews-Robinson produced a charity single two years ago using the music of his grandad Robbie "King" Robinson.
Robbie, 74, died suddenly of a heart attack earlier this month but Ryan has plans to ensure his legacy remains through music.
"The power of music is that you can live forever through it," said Ryan.
"I originally sampled his music because I thought more people should hear it and I want to keep his legacy alive."
"He wasn't just a grandad, he was a best friend too. He couldn't have been more of an inspiration to me."
Ryan, who raps under the name Ragz-CV, is putting together a special video tribute to Robbie after students from University of the Arts London came to document their collaboration.
Robbie moved to the UK from Jamaica in 1962 and recorded six albums, spanning the reggae, jazz and soul genres, eventually settling in South Norwood.
He befriended American jazz musician Jimmy Smith and the two toured together.
When not creating music he worked as a London cab driver, retiring in the 2000s.
But Ryan's own musical career spurred him out of retirement for their collaboration in 2011 entitled Paying Homage to the King, which helped to raise thousands of pounds for the Alzheimer's Society.
Before Robbie passed away, Ryan visited to play him his latest single Summer Days, Summer Nights, which also used one of Robbie's originals.
"He was saying how proud he was, and I made the original better," he added.
"He still had that ear to what was good."
Despite suffering from diabetes and having to look after his wife Mary, who suffers from dementia, Ryan said Robbie always kept in high spirits, adding: "He never felt hard done by.
"He was always a positive person."
Coulsdon school gets £1.6m cash boost for new science labs
WORK to completely transform Woodcote High School's science department will start this summer after it won a £1.6 million grant.
The Coulsdon school's 11 science laboratories were originally built in the 1950s and are in "dire" need of refurbishment, according to head Mark Southworth.
They will be replaced by "state-of-the-art" facilities built using funds secured through the Education Funding Agency (EFA), part of the Department for Education.
Work on the new classrooms will get under way this summer.
Mr Southworth hailed the success of the bid, led by the school's site manager Steve Callan, as a "phenomenal achievement".
"The quality of the bid has resulted in this huge injection of funding for Woodcote," he said.
"Students can look forward to carrying out their science experiments in laboratories that will be the envy of other institutions."
As part of the work, three new laboratories will be built alongside a sports science room. The other nine labs will be refurbished in stages to avoid disrupting lessons.
The new labs will replace temporary ones built as the school expanded, and work is expected to be completed by June 2015.
Mr Southworth said the facilities would hugely benefit pupils at the school.
"They are really motivated by the practical aspects of science and carrying out their own experiments really helps them to learn and retain scientific concepts," he added. "We are sure that these labs will help us go from strength to strength academically."
The grant was one of the largest awarded from the EFA fund of £394 million, which was four times oversubscribed.
The fund is designed to provide capital finance for academies since they are no longer under the control of the Local Education Authority.
Woodcote High became an academy in June 2012.