Torbett's time at the Boys Club came to a sudden end in 1974. Much later, after he was exposed as a paedophile, there were reports in the Scottish press that Torbett, by then the general manager of the Boys Club, had been sacked by Jock Stein. But at the time there was no mention of any improper behaviour, and no one at Celtic reported the allegations against him to Strathclyde Police. In fact, the November 1974 edition of the club's official magazine, The Celtic View, crowed that Torbett "bows out after another season of glory". In the article, Torbett said his football memorabilia business was growing so fast that it was time for him to stand down from managing the youth side.

In 1978, Torbett was allowed to return to the Boys Club, and from then on he was free to abuse a new generation of boys. During his absence from Celtic Park, Torbett had built up his business, The Trophy Centre, which won contracts to sell official Celtic souvenirs and memorabilia. By the mid-80s, he was a millionaire, and had business dealings with several men associated with the club.

There were certainly rumours of child abuse circulating at the Boys Club after his return. In an editorial in Celtic FC's official publication, The Celtic View, on 10 December 1986, the club raged against those who were saying there was sexual abuse going on within the youth side. The editorial claimed that the club had conducted its own investigation and interviewed those under suspicion, but "could find nothing to substantiate the stories that were being circulated". It contained a warning to the press: "The boys club leaders who have been placed under a cloud as a result of these rumours" were ready to defend themselves in court, it read, "to make sure these scurrilous stories are buried once and for all".

Now the survivors and their families are preparing for their day in court, they want to know more about this internal investigation at Celtic Park in 1986. "Our suspicion is that there were no investigations at all, but let's have the civil action establish if that is the case or not," the survivors' lawyer, Patrick McGuire, said.

One of those Torbett targeted after his return to the Boys Club was a boy named Andy Gray. In 1988, Gray was 12 and playing at the club as a striker. "We were very close growing up, and I knew that Andy just lived and breathed being part of Celtic," his sister Michelle told me when we met in a Glasgow hotel earlier this year. "He played for over three years, but suddenly cut all ties with the club before he turned 16."