Disgraced youth football coach Jim Torbett sexually abused a young player in a Maryhill toy shop while another man watched, it has been claimed.

The former Celtic Boys’ Club coach allegedly preyed on Gordon Woods in the storeroom of a shop where miniature European Cup trophies were being sold to youngsters when the aspiring footballer was just 13.

Mr Woods also alleged Torbett insisted he continue training with the team despite being told he wasn’t good enough after his first trial so the convicted sex offender could continue targeting him and others.

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Speaking to the Daily Record, Mr Woods said he waived his right to anonymity because he wanted Torbett to “know who he was”.

He alleged he was taken to the toy shop on two occasions, one of which included another man who was also involved with the club.

Gordon said: “One of the times in the toy shop – when it was closed for lunch – Torbett took me into the storeroom or back room of the shop.

“He attempted to rape me and then carried out a sex act. I remember thinking that the door was open and the other man was in the shop.”

He added: “I thought that was why the door was left open, so the other man could see in. I remember thinking, ‘He’s watching this’, because there was no reason to leave the door open. Afterwards, Torbett carried on as if nothing happened.”

Gordon believed he was a member of the Celtic youth team because the boys’ club was viewed as one and the same, recalling an incident when he slept in for a match in Dumfries.

He said: “I slept in and I knew I had missed the bus. I phoned Celtic Park and spoke to one of the secretaries.

“I told them that I had missed the coach. Sometime later, the phone rang in the house and it was the secretary I had spoken to.

“She asked if I could be at St Enoch Square underground station by 12 o’clock. A big burgundy car arrived and inside were Jock Stein and Sir Bob Kelly. Stein was driving.

“I went all the way to Dumfries with them. There was a big box next to me in the back. There was a brass latch and inside was two doors and it was the European Cup, or a replica of the European Cup. They were taking it to show the boys of the team we were playing and the people down there. It was an honour to be in the same car as both these men.

“I listen now to Celtic FC saying that Celtic Boys’ Club was a totally separate organisation. Yet there was me having missed the bus, phoning Celtic Park, speaking to a Celtic FC secretary and then being picked up by the Celtic FC manager and chairman for a boys’ club match in Dumfries.

“It enrages me the stance that Celtic are taking now. Whatever they are saying now, was definitely not the case at the time.”

He said he was also abused by Torbett at a flat in Pinkston Drive in Glasgow.

Gordon added: “I never played a competitive game for Celtic Boys’ Club. I wasn’t good enough. I now know Torbett kept me going to training for the simple reason I’d be a sitting duck for his predatory behaviour.

“I’m speaking out now after all these years because I’m disgusted at Celtic FC’s claim that they were separate from the boys’ club. That was not my experience. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

“I want him to remember me and I want him to think about what he did to me. I also want him to know that I will not be silenced any more.”

Boys’ Club founder Torbett was jailed in November for six years following a string of allegations over abuse.

Former general manager Frank Cairney, 84, was jailed in January for four years, while ex-kit man Jim McCafferty, 73, was jailed for six years and nine months.

Former chairman Gerald King, 66, was convicted of preying on children at a Glasgow school but avoided jail.

Gordon recalled the abuse ending after he attended Celtic Park for a match in September 1968 when Torbett told him to get in his car. 

Gordon said he got in the back and Torbett said he thought their “friendship” should end.

He says he recognised a boy who was sitting in the passenger seat as another abuse victim who gave evidence against Torbett in the late 90s.

Gordon added: “This has affected me more in later years.

“I have now been able to explain this to my family, to let them know that this happened to me when I was very young and didn’t really know what was happening to me. I’m glad I’ve found the courage to speak. I hope that this will help others.”

Gordon is a client of Thompsons Solicitors, which is seeking damages from Celtic FC for a string of clients.

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Patrick McGuire from the firm told the Record: “Mr Woods’ harrowing account of abuse at the Celtic Boys’ Club sheds new light on the scale of the abuse, as well as the close connections between the Boys’ Club and Celtic.”

“Particularly disturbing is his account of what happened to him at a toy shop frequented by his abuser.

“In telling his story publicly, Mr Woods has shown great courage which should be admired. He, along with all the other survivors from Celtic and Celtic Boys’ Club, want the club to take responsibility for the decades of abuse which happened on their watch and to show respect to those survivors by effecting quick and appropriate settlement of all legal actions.”