Child abuse case payments agreed

Harley was sentenced to 15 years in jail for his crimes

A council has approved plans to pay £20,000 to every victim of a child abuse scandal at one of its residential homes in the late 1970s.

Dumfries and Galloway Council had been asked to approve payments to people identified as having suffered abuse at the hands of Peter Harley.

He was in charge of Merkland Children's Home in Moffat between 1977 and 1982.

Payments will be made to 20 known victims and a fund has also been set up should others be identified.

Peter Harley inflicted physical and sexual abuse on boys aged from six to 16 when he ran Merkland.

Advertisement

A victim of the abuse speaks of his ordeal

However, it was years before any of the victims came forward to report what happened.

Harley was eventually jailed for 15 years in 1996 for his crimes.

The council was told that the lives of adult survivors had been "irreparably damaged" and the authority's reputation "tarnished".

Some individuals did receive compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensations Authority.

However, attempts to sue the council were dismissed in court in 2003 as time-barred.

The authority said it was now "appropriate" to make "ex gratia payments" to the adult survivors.

The council has also agreed to make a full public apology.