A child rapist who repeatedly abused four young girls has 'finally been brought to justice', a court has heard.

Eric Rafferty repeatedly raped two of his victims and tried to seriously sexually assault a third during an eight-year spree.

The former carer was convicted of seven offences of rape, attempted rape and indecency against his victims committed between 1982 and 1990 at houses in Aberdeen.

The 69-year-old forced some of his victims to take off their clothes during card games and showed one pornographic films.

Lord Uist told him: "These offences consisted of calculated, systematic and depraved sexual abuse of four children when the opportunity arose for you to engage in such conduct.

"One girl was the subject of repeated rapes between the ages of six and nine, a second was the subject of repeated rapes between the ages of seven and ten.

"All four girls were subjected to the most abhorrent sexual practices by you. These were unspeakably wicked crimes."

The judge added: "It has taken a long time for justice to catch up with you, but the day of reckoning has finally arrived.

"The gravity of the crimes which you committed against these four children must be marked by a very long sentence indeed."

Rafferty was jailed for 15 years at the High Court in Edinburgh on Thursday.

Defence solicitor advocate Iain Paterson said Rafferty partially accepted responsibility for the sex crimes but denied the rape.

He said Rafferty had no convictions prior to the offending or since it and had been assessed as posing a low or moderate risk of sexual re-offending.

He asked the judge to take account Rafferty's age in sentencing and pointed out that he received medication for heart problems.

But Lord Uist said: "The only reason that it is now he is being dealt with was because, as is fairly common in this type of case, a sufficient number of victims did not make their disclosures until many years later."

Mr Paterson said there had been an investigation into Rafferty in 1993 but that did not result in a prosecution.