Payout for victim sexually assaulted by man in women's refuge

The woman, then aged 21, had sought support at the refuge after fleeing from an abusive partner

A woman who was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a male member of staff while at a women's refuge has received a payout from the home provider.

Aged 21 at the time, she had sought help from Shropshire Domestic Violence after fleeing from an abusive partner.

Stephen Russell repeatedly attacked her over a period of months in 2015 after being given access to her room and personal information about her.

The 52-year-old was jailed in 2019 after admitting a number of charges.

After seeking support at the refuge, the woman was required to meet with Russell in order to arrange her accommodation and housing benefits.

The victim was threatened by Russell who had access to her room and personal information

At the time, Russell had been given access to all parts of the building as well as private information about the women who lived and were supported there, said the victim's solicitor Richard Scorer.

"So obviously it was a very dangerous situation," he said.

Russell would enter her room and sexually assault the 21-year-old under the guise he was completing maintenance and repairs. There were also assaults outside the refuge.

"The woman was threatened by him that if she did complain about what happened he would use the information he had on her," said Mr Scorer.

"She was put in a very vulnerable and very dangerous situation. It was completely unacceptable."

In March 2019 at Shrewsbury Crown Court, Russell was jailed for three-and-a-half years after admitting charges including attempted rape and sexual assault.

She brought a legal case against the refuge, at the time owned by Shropshire Housing Group and now managed by Connexus, on the basis they employed her attacker and put him in a position of power over her when she was vulnerable, Mr Scorer said.

Richard Scorer, from law firm Slater and Gordon, represented the woman

The solicitor, head of abuse at Slater and Gordon, said the company had needed to pay damages for the "appalling experience that she went through".

In a statement, Connexus said the service had undergone "significant changes" to the way it was managed and there were now robust safeguarding measures in place.

The company did not now employ men in any of its domestic abuse services for women, it added.

An expectation that women's refuges would be women-only had been "eroded over time", added Mr Scorer.

He said his client would like to ensure the wider lessons of this case were learned so the crimes were not repeated in the future.

"We do not tolerate abuse or predatory behaviour of any kind in our workplaces or refuges, and our thoughts continue to be with the victim and their family," added Connexus.