A FOOTBALL starlet who helped to snare one of the Celtic paedos told of his relief that six decades of victims fighting for justice was now over.
The victim, who was abused by paedo teacher and talent-spotter Ken Divers, said he hopes others can now move on from the horrors.
Former Boys Club manager Cairney was convicted of preying on children who dreamed of playing for the Hoops[/caption]
The long-running scandal started in 1966 when since-convicted child sex beast Torbett set up Celtic Boys Club[/caption]
Divers — once hailed as being part of Celtic’s “little scouting army” — was one of nine perverts convicted for the abuse of young players at Celtic Boys Club who had dreams of a career with one of the top teams in Scottish football.
The victim said: “This could have been done — and should have been done — a long time ago.
“The victims of some have died, some have suffered and we all suffered because it never goes away.”
Divers was handed a five-year prison term in June 2023 for assaulting four boys from 1968 to 1992 while a technical teacher and football coach at schools in Paisley.
But he is just one of a group of paedophiles whose sick crimes stretch back six decades.
The long-running scandal started in 1966 when since-convicted child sex beast Torbett, now 77, set up Celtic Boys Club.
Concerns over his conduct were flagged repeatedly over the years but it was not until 1998 that he was finally nailed for abusing young footie starlets — the first of three convictions.
Torbett was sentenced to three years in prison last May for preying on Gordon Woods in 1967.
That came on top of the six-year term he was handed in 2018 for abusing three children.
Former Boys Club manager Cairney, 89, was also later convicted of preying on children who dreamed of playing for the Hoops — believing the youth set-up was a pathway to the professional ranks.
Cairney was caged in 2019 for three years for sex attacks between 1965 and 1986.
All the men involved in the Thompsons Solicitors class action were targeted by the depraved duo, who used their power and influence to hide their sickening actions.
But Cairney and Torbett were not the only paedos with links to Celtic Boys Club to be convicted for sex offences against children over the decades-long scandal.
Divers died aged 80 in Low Moss nick in Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow, on February 2 this year.
His victim added: “I never played for the Boys Club but I was still abused by a Celtic representative — a scout for the club.
“When Divers was the manager of our football team, he was tight with Jim Torbett.
“We got tickets for Celtic, played at Barrowfield and got taken out to Celtic Park — they were always connected to Celtic. They wore the club blazer, they wore the club badge.
“It should have been resolved years ago — from the minute Jim Torbett was convicted in 1998.
“There is no argument now — it should have been done.
“It’s well known Torbett was kicked out of the club and allowed back in years later before he went on to abuse more boys. That’s one they will never be able to deny.
“I just hope that the people who are not being compensated in this case, something happens for them because they’re victims as well — but just of other perpetrators linked to the Boys Club.
“On the one hand though, it’s good news for the men who have been compensated. I am delighted for them.”
Boys club kitman Jim McCafferty admitted 11 charges of “sexual depravity” against ten boys between 1972 and 1996. He died behind bars in 2022 aged 76.
Other fiends with connections to the shamed youth set-up include scout Jim Brown, who was active there from 1976 to 1981. He admitted groping three lads at a club in Fauldhouse, West Lothian.
Gerry King got probation for sex abuse of four boys and a girl while being a primary team coach[/caption]
Neil Strachan landed a life sentence for a rape attempt on an 18-month-old boy in 2005[/caption]
And ex-coach Lyness Malley was quizzed by cops over allegations he molested a child at Celtic’s training ground in 1969 and 1970.
He denied the claims and died in 2022 aged 83.
John Cullen dodged jail in 2004 despite admitting he took photos of naked boys as young as ten.
Gerry King got probation for sex abuse of four boys and a girl while a primary team coach in the 1980s.
Neil Strachan landed a life sentence for a rape attempt on an 18-month-old boy in 2005.
His minimum term was cut in 2011 to nine years.
We told in December how lads playing for the Boys Club were at the mercy of at least seven paedophiles at the same time for a nightmare two-year period.
Predators Torbett, Cairney, McCafferty and Divers were all linked to the scandal-hit Hoops feeder outfit between 1990 and 1991.
How long struggle for justice unfolded
1966: Celtic Boys Club is founded by Jim Torbett.
1971: Frank Cairney joins the youth team.
1974: Torbett booted out after allegations of abuse.
1980: He reportedly returns after Jock Stein leaves club.
1996: Ex-Scotland star Alan Brazil reveals he was abused.
1996: Torbett arrested and later jailed for two years.
1996: Paedophile kitman Jim McCafferty leaves Celtic for “personal reasons” after teen abuse claims surface.
1998: Torbett found guilty of shameless and indecent conduct with three players between 1967-74, including Brazil, at Glasgow Sheriff Court, gets 30 months’ jail.
2016: Jim McCafferty confesses in the media, saying he could not recall how many boys he abused. He later handed himself into the police.
NOV 2016: The SFA announces a review of claims of historical abuse.
FEB 2017: Celtic issue an apology and announce investigation.
MAR 2017: Celtic pay £30,000 to ex-player who alleges he was abused by McCafferty in the 90s.
APR 2017: Celtic announces independent inquiry.
2018: Celtic insists the Boys Club was an “entirely separate entity”.
2019: McCafferty jailed for six years for child abuse and Cairney also handed jail sentence.
2020: Civil legal action launched against Celtic.
2020: Celtic apologise just hours before Channel 4’s investigation into football “paedophile rings” is set to air on TV.
2022: Torbett is charged with a child sex offence and an ex-coach with links to the club — Kenneth Divers — is extradited from Vietnam to stand trial.
2022: Lord Arthurson says 22 former Celtic Boys Club players can launch a class action claim against the football club.
FEB 2023: A court finds that Cairney indecently assaulted three players in the 1970s and 80s.
APR 2023: Torbett jailed again, for abusing a boy, who was aged 13 at the time in 1967. The indecent assaults went on for more than a year in his car and at a flat, as wel as a toy shop in Glasgow.
JUN 2024: It is claimed Celtic will settle the claims.
APR 2025: Thompsons Solicitors said around 70 per cent of cases had been settled for a seven-figure sum with further settlements expected.
And prowling on the touchlines were Strachan, King and Cullen — leaving young boys at the highest risk of being targeted by the perverts.
One Cairney victim, who was not part of the class action, told last night how he hopes the case will open the door for further claims. He said: “I hope this means other victims will get compensation.
“I do think it’s long overdue for Celtic to say sorry because for too many years people have been closing their eyes to it.
“There were two guys there — Cairney and Torbett — who were as fly as jailers.
“I stood in court and said Frank had a good side but he also had an evil side.
“I told the judge I wasn’t doing this out of spite, I was doing it to get justice. And I do hope that’s what some victims have finally received.”
Ex-starlet Gordon Woods, now 70, was 13 when molested by Torbett in the late 1960s.
He said last year: “There will always be the possibility of one paedophile infiltrating an organisation until they are caught.
“But when you have seven in the one place at the same time, that’s not infiltration — that is a systematic, contrived paedophile ring.
“In this case, it was operating in a young boys’ football team. Over two years, they knew each other — they knew what they were doing.”
A spokesman for campaign group Spotlight added: “It’s just chilling to know that seven paedophiles were associated with Celtic Boys Club at the same time at various levels.
“Every parent whose child played for the boys club believed that it was a pathway to the senior team and that they were one and the same organisation. It’s utterly shocking.”
