Essex County Council hands settlement to abuse victim after carer …

A man whose carer forced him to take scalding hot showers and drink juice mixed with bleach has been handed a five-figure settlement by Essex County Council. The foster carer, Sandra Clayton, was jailed after being convicted in 2017 for subjecting her foster children to extreme child abuse from the 1970s to early 90s.

The claimant, whose anonymity is protected, was one of several children who suffered abuse by Clayton during this time. During her trial in 2017 the court heard how she forced soiled underwear into two of her foster children’s mouths as a punishment.

She would make her foster children go out into the cold, subject them to beatings, make them sleep on the floor, and would slash their feet with a knife if they tried to get away from her. Additionally, she would play a sadistic game where she would grab the children by their limbs and spin them around and then let go, causing injuries as they collided with furniture and walls. At times Clayton would make the children fight each other for food.

When the children’s injuries were too big to conceal, Clayton would force them to lie to authorities so that she would not be implicated. The claimant reported being regularly pushed down the stairs, bitten on the face, forced to stand naked while items were thrown at him, coerced to harm himself, kept in a coal bunker for extended periods of time, chased around the house naked by a dog trained to bite his ankles, and force-fed food until he would vomit and was then made to eat the vomit. Additionally, he was once hospitalised for eight days after being launched across the room.

The full extent of the abuse was detailed at Ipswich Crown Court in 2017, where Clayton pleaded guilty to three charges of cruelty to a person under age 16 and was sentenced to four years in prison. The claimant launched his claim against Essex County Council for the abuse he was subjected to while in foster care, and the defendant was notified of the case in 2018.

The claim was settled in 2023 for a five-figure sum. Leigh Day abuse team solicitor Andrew Lord, who represented the claimant, said: “I am pleased that we were able to reach a significant settlement for my client, who has been through the most horrific abuse at a young age at the hands of someone who was supposed to be caring for him.

"This had an enormous impact on my client who was completely let down by both his foster carer and Essex County Council. While no amount of money can undo what Clayton did, I hope that the payment of compensation, alongside the criminal conviction, goes some way towards holding those involved accountable and helping my client to feel a sense of closure.”

A spokesperson for Essex County Council said: “The person in this case has a right to privacy which will be respected. In any case ECC will always work to achieve an amicable resolution.”

References

1. ^{^} Over 3,000 Essex children living in 'grim' temporary accommodation (www.essexlive.news)