Former Celtic kit man, 71, admits 20-year sexual abuse campaign against youth players

A FORMER kitman for Celtic, Hibs and Falkirk has confessed to sexually abusing young boys over two decades.

Jim McCafferty, 71, admitted preying on teenagers in the 80s and 90s while coaching boys teams in West Lothian.

He also claims he abused young players at Celtic between 1990 and 1996.

The shocking revelation comes as Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier came forward to reveal his disturbing treatment at the hands of the club’s then-youth development officer Bob Higgins.

McCafferty, who now lives in Belfast, now faces a police investigation.

He told the Record: “I understand it was wrong. I was wrong and I did wrong and I am sorry.

“I have remorse. I know if I’m found guilty I will have to serve time, and I’ve said to myself that’s what I’ll have to pay back for what I’ve done.

“I’m OK with that. I hope that will cleanse my soul.”

McCafferty admitted regular sexual contact with “about a dozen” victims – two from Celtic.

But he claimed he was “not going the whole way, but going some of the way”.

He told how after matches he would strip off and join boys in the showers to take part in “horseplay”.

He said: “I was getting a bit of fun and I suppose as much enjoyment.

“I feel bad that I was involved in it. But at the time I was thinking to myself, if they didn’t want to be involved in it, nobody forced them.”

He claimed he preyed on one victim to “toughen him up” becuase he was “a very mummy’s boy, a soft boy”.

He said: “I took advantage of one boy. He needed a bit of life about him. It was sexual at that time. There was a lot of fondling and fun.

“I loved being with the boys. I had deep fondness for them all.”

One of his victims – now aged 47 – told the Record how 33 years ago McCafferty would take him in a minibus to a secluded spot then abuse him.

And he also forced a pal to strip him naked before rubbing boot polish on his private parts.

The former Celtic U18s player, who first met McCafferty in 1983 while playing for a boys’ team in Motherwell, said: “He would say, ‘I’m not doing any harm – I just want to touch you a wee bit’.

“I’m just playing, having a bit of fun. Don’t be scared.”

He added: “It happened over and over again.

“I hit the bottle when I was 15 because of what happened to me. I couldn’t sleep at night without a drink.

“I hid this from everybody, even my family. They all knew something was wrong but they didn’t know what.”

Meanwhile the family of father of two John Gaffney, who killed himself in 2013, have told how they believe his ordeal at the hands of McCafferty when he was a boy is directly linked to his death.

McCafferty – a friend of John’s family in the 80s – admitted abusing him while John played for Fauldhouse Boys Club in 1982.

McCafferty was involved with Armadale Thistle and several youth teams at the time, according to the Record.

John went on to wed but ex-wife Linda said he was haunted by the abuse inflicted on him by McCafferty.

She said: “I am in no doubt the abuse is what lay behind it.

“Even when John stopped drinking, he started abusing himself, cutting his arms. He had never done anything like that.

“I think he spiralled out of control and didn’t have the proper tools or resources to cope with what happened to him.”

Detective Superintendent Deirdre Bones, from the Police Service Northern Ireland's Public Protection Branch, told The Sun Online: “A 71-year-old male has been arrested by detectives after presenting himself at a station in Belfast. He was arrested on suspicion of sexual offences against children in Northern Ireland.

"He is currently helping police with their enquiries."

Meanwhile, a Police Scotland spokesman said: "Police in West Lothian have received a report of non-recent sexual abuse and will commence inquiries to establish the full circumstances surrounding this matter."

Celtic Football Club have also been contacted for comment.