He was my hero, I’d have run through walls for him

Witness fights back tears as he tells court how he idolised man alleged to have abused him

A FORMER youth footballer who claimed he was sexually abused by a Celtic Boys Club manager said he regarded his alleged abuser as a “hero”.

The man, aged 46, told the High Court in Glasgow he loved the man accused – James Torbett, who he knew as Jim.

During his evidence, the man said: “Jim Torbett was my hero. I would have run through walls for him. I would have done anything he told me to do. I loved him.”

The witness told the court Torbett had stuffed hundreds of pound in notes into his mouth while abusing him.

He said: “He would fit it into your mouth using his hand. One time, it was £530. I remember going home with £100 notes in my pocket.”

The man, who lives in the Glasgow area, claimed that on a trip to Noyon, France, with Celtic BC, Torbett did a “striptease” to music before abusing him.

The witness, who can’t be named for legal reasons, told prosecutor Sheena Fraser: “I was in my bed in a dormitory. Jim Torbett was standing there with a shirt and underpants on. He proceeded to do a striptease. He took his shirt off and was dancing.”

The man said that Torbett, who still had his underpants on, was moving the shirt back and forwards between his legs. He claimed Torbett then summoned him to his room and abused him.

The witness said the abuse began with Torbett touching him on his private parts as they sat watching TV in Torbett’s home. Fraser asked: “Did he say anything?” The witness replied: “No, but when he did it, he had a big smile on his face.”

The man also said he was picked for Celtic BC at the second attempt – after help from Celtic great Jimmy “Jinky” Johnstone.

He said: “Jimmy Johnstone got me a trial for the under-12s. I did a six-week trial and was told I wasn’t good enough.”

The witness said the alleged abuse ended when he was 17 and began a relationship with a woman. He said he told no one about it until 2015.

He added: “I had to get it out. It was killing me. I told my sister but swore her to secrecy.”

Torbett, 71, from Glasgow, denies nine offences of sexual abuse allegedly committed between August 1985 and August 1994. He denies sexually abusing four young boys at addresses in Glasgow, in his Mercedes, and in London and Noyon.

Defence QC Tony Graham lodged a special defence of alibi in relation to a charge alleged to have taken place between June 1985 and June 1986.

The trial continues.

I would have done anything he told me to do WITNESS ON ACCUSED FOOTBALL COACH JIM TORBETT