More than 40 former residents of a children’s home run by a controversial “cult” are suing the authorities for allegedly putting them in the care of abusers.
The Red House in Buxton, Norfolk, took in hundreds of children over 14 years until it was finally shut down a decade after the alarm was first raised. It was owned by the Tvind School Cooperative, a controversial left-wing group which has been likened to a cult, that was founded in Denmark in the late 1960s. Norfolk Police have told the Mirror that they first investigated allegations of abuse at the home in 1988.
A Sky News investigation has found that in 1990 the social services watchdog wrote to local authorities warning them not to send children to the home. It listed allegations including sexual assault by a teacher, physical abuse and a gang rape by three pupils. A report made by Norfolk County Council four years later showed they were aware of claims that 20 children had been abused. But the home remained open until 1998.
Daniel Lemberger Cooper of Imran Khan and Partners, the law firm representing the former residents, said: “There was opportunity after opportunity for the authorities to stop the abuse. But it was – shockingly – allowed to carry on. Why that was, and who was responsible is precisely why my clients are bringing this legal action.It is only if this occurs that they might get some semblance of justice and a measure of closure.”
One of 43 suing the council has told the Daily Mirror how a female teacher allegedly targeted him as a teenager. The man, who transitioned in later life, went to the home as a 12-year-old girl after being put into care. He says that aged 14 a female teacher groomed and then sexually abused him over a prolonged period.
Now a 43-year-old mature student, he said: “Looking back on it, she was questioning my sexuality and she put this relationship-type scenario on to me. She was an older person and I don’t know how she had this power over me but she did.
“She dressed it up as love but I had lost my female care giver and it was very much abuse. It was a toxic environment where you were fighting to be loved with your peers. I thought it was normal at the time and it was quite obvious what was happening to the students and the teachers. It’s hard for people to understand from the outside how cults work.”
The former care child eventually escaped from another Tvind school in Denmark where she had lived as a young adult and returned to London. A police officer later made contact about the Red House and the former teacher was arrested but never charged.
The former resident is now part of the legal action being taken for the physical, sexual and psychological abuse he allegedly experienced. He said: “I’m really happy to have this opportunity to show that this is how it went down and that we weren’t lying.”
The legal action is being supported by the Shirley Oaks Survivors Association which campaigns over historical abuse in children’s homes in Lambeth south London. Its co-founder, Dr Raymond Stevenson, said: “The most concerning thing about Tvind and the Red House is the lack of response from Norfolk Council where the Red House was based and the licensing authority. They were aware of the abuse. They carried out inspections on the home and ignored the obvious signs of a cult operating in their county. We implore Norfolk Council to compensate those affected without hiding behind lawyers which will ultimately cost Norfolk taxpayers millions of pounds in court and legal fees.”
There are said to be over 60 more alleged victims from The Red House who are not ready to come forward. Tvind opened around 30 schools in Denmark, most for disadvantaged children, and two in England: The Red House in Norfolk and The Small School in East Yorkshire. Local authorities paid up to £4,000 a month for each child while teachers were expected to donate their salary to the organisation and live communally.
But in 2001 the Danish authorities raided its offices and charged its hippy guru founder Mogens Amdi Petersen with fraud. Found not guilty in 2006, he left the country and it was thought he may have taken refuge in a massive luxury compound in Mexico. It is claimed The Red House was the only Tvind school where children were abused.
A 44-year-old woman said she was 13 when she was sent to The Red House where staff would violently restrain pupils. “I thought I was going to die because I couldn’t breathe,” she says tearfully.
Students at The Red House would spend months abroad working. The woman said she was on one trip in India when she claims to have been sexually assaulted. “I remember being woken to being raped. I tried to find a teacher but they just told me to go back to bed and said I was lying.”
She claims to have been raped multiple times while at The Red House. A 50-year-old man from Newcastle, also claims to have experienced physical and sexual abuse while at the home. He says he was molested and is now unable to work due to complex post-traumatic stress disorder, which stems from his time at the home.
In 1989, children tried to alert the authorities about what was happening at the school by staging a riot. Windows were smashed and buildings damaged.
Norfolk Police said it has carried out two “extensive” investigations into allegations of abuse at The Red House but no charges were ever brought. It said that due to “evidential difficulties” and “statutory time limits”, they had concluded “there was no realistic prospect of achieving a conviction against any suspect”.
“We have personally contacted all victims and visited those who agreed to meet with us to explain the outcome of this latest investigation,” the force added.
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