Two Scottish councils may have to pay more than £1m in compensation to people who experienced “severe” abuse as children at the hands of their foster carers.
Lawyers for two of the victims said they had already secured £775,000 from Aberdeenshire Council.
Eight other cases against the local authority and Aberdeen City Council are also expected to be settled.
Laura Connor, of Thompsons Solicitors, told Scotland News she expected the final total would be more than £1m.
The abuse in question involved three different foster care households in the north east of Scotland.
One of the abusers, John Sinclair, was jailed for nine years in August 2022 for sexual offences involving girls in Aberdeenshire dating back to the 1970s and 80s.
Detectives from Police Scotland’s National Child Abuse Investigation unit led the investigation, and Sinclair was arrested and charged in 2019.
He was 72 when admitted a total of 11 charges, including three of assault and rape, and lewd behaviour, and was jailed at the High Court in Aberdeen.
Another of the cases involved foster carer Sandra Harper.
She abused children in her care between 1985 and 2002.
A trial heard how Harper struck children in her care, and also shouted and swore at them.
A sheriff said she had been “nasty, verbally abusive, cruel, vindictive, violent” towards her victims.
She was ordered to carry out 300 hours community of service at Peterhead Sheriff Court in 2023. She later died.
An appeal to quash her conviction was thrown out.
One victim, who has experienced lifelong effects from the abuse she suffered, said she still had a lot of questions because of the “clear lack of safeguarding”.
She said there was no training for foster parents, who were often looking after vulnerable children, and said she wanted to know more about vetting procedures.
She said: “There was also a lack of tracking for social workers. I worry about why they didn’t pick up on the signs of abuse, on the rare visits we had with them.
“There must have been clear signs something was wrong – and I would like to know why.
“My decision on coming forward was to hold Aberdeenshire Council accountable for their actions in placing children into the unsafe environments. It was important for me to come forward so that it wasn’t swept under the carpet.”
Solicitor Ms Connor, head of the life impact team at Thompsons, said she was acting for 10 victims seeking compensation.
“They endured, as children, significant levels of abuse – some of the most severe we have come across,” she said.
Most of the cases involve Aberdeenshire Council.
“Because of the significance of the abuse, the total will be well above £1m,” Ms Connor said of the expected total compensation for the 10 cases.
“We are working through them as quickly as we are able to.”
Aberdeenshire Council and Aberdeen City Council have been asked for comment.
