The payout is the largest of its kind, and is to settle thousands of claims made over a period of decades.

Los Angeles County has confirmed it will pay a record $4bn (£3.4bn) to settle nearly 7,000 claims of “horrific” child sexual abuse related to their juvenile facilities and foster care homes over a period of decades.

Survivors say they were abused and mistreated by staff in institutions meant to protect them - with many of the claims linked to MacLaren Children’s Center, a shelter that permanently closed in 2003.

“This was the fox guarding the hen house – they were raping boys and raping girls,” Todd Becker, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told the BBC.

The allegations stretch back to 1959, with most incidents taking place in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.

The unprecedented $4bn settlement was approved on Tuesday by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.