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County has been flooded by claims from nearly 7,000 plaintiffs who said they were abused by caretakers, probation staff or foster parents while they were children in county custody.

Initially, authorities identified the children as in the care of foster parents, but the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office later clarified that they were legal guardians.

Six children were allegedly tortured by their foster parents and another adult at a Victorville home, with some of the abuse going back at least a decade, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

The county has taken several steps to try and prevent abuse, Davenport has said, including bolstering the vetting of foster parents and probation staffers and winding down the use of group homes.

His lawyers said that as the Nigerian authorities had approved him as her foster parent, the English court had no power to take her away.