McCafferty, Cairney and Torbett, all guilty of abusing young boys at Celtic.
Democrat reporter
The Record understands those cases – relating to abuse perpetrated by Jim Torbett, Frank Cairney and Jim McCafferty – have not previously been made public.
It comes as the Court of Session ended group proceedings in which Celtic FC made payouts of more than £1million to 24 of 28 cases represented by Thomsons Solicitors.
Discussions continue in three of the remaining cases which will continue separately, with offers made by Celtic, however they have not yet been able to conclude for varying reasons.
A source close to the case said: “In addition to those 3 ongoing cases from the group, there are nine other cases ongoing against Celtic Plc relating to historical child abuse.
“Those cases relate to abuse perpetrated by Torbett, Cairney and McCafferty.
“They are all at differing stages and we expect them all to also settle.”
The nine other ongoing matters against Celtic, relating to historical child abuse, are all at differing stages and are expected to be settled.
The group action against Celtic was the first personal injury action in Scotland to be litigated and settled using the group proceedings rules in the Court of Session.
These ensured each survivor retained their individual right to compensation for their own injuries and losses.
Laura Connor, partner at Thompsons, said: “This has been a landmark case—not only in terms of its legal significance but in the real, meaningful progress it represents for survivors of historical abuse at Celtic Boys Club and beyond.
“It has reshaped the legal landscape in Scotland, showing that justice can be pursued collectively without diminishing the voice or rights of the individual.
“We are incredibly proud to have been instructed by our clients, whose resilience throughout this unnecessarily lengthy process has been remarkable.
“Their strength, and that of all our clients, inspires us to continue the difficult fights for justice, finding novel ways to do so.”
The crimes committed at the club were unravelled by the Daily Record in August 1996 after we highlighted revelations of abuse.
Two months later, Torbett, who founded Celtic Boys Club, was arrested before being jailed for two years for sex abuse crimes inflicted on young boys.
At the time, paedophile kitman McCafferty left Celtic for “personal reasons” as the sex abuse claims surfaced.
He was arrested in Northern Ireland in 2016 after victim Stephen McGuinness tearfully told his explosive story to the Record.
Stephen was a 14-year-old starlet with the club in the 1980s when he was groomed and abused by McCafferty.
In an interview with a journalist from the Irish Mirror, acting in conjunction with a Record journalist, McCafferty himself confessed to his deplorable crimes.
He was then marched to a Belfast police station by reporter Jilly Beattie, where he made a confession, which he later tried to withdraw. In the end he pleaded guilty to a host of charges.
In 2020, the Record revealed claims of a cross-border paedophile ring involving McCafferty and notorious former football coach Barry Bennell, a serial paedophile who molested young boys in England during the 80s and 90s.
The beast arranged for boys to be sent to Crewe for trials – and to stay in the remote home of Bennell, who worked for Crewe Alexandra and had associations with Manchester City and Stoke City.
Barry Bennell
McCafferty – who worked with many professional, junior and youth teams – also arranged brief stops at the club during squad trips to England.
He was jailed for six years in 2019 and died behind bars in 2022.
Over the years, Celtic FC argued the Boys Club was an “entirely separate entity” before eventually apologising for the historic abuse in 2020.
He was seen out walking after being unfit to stand trial, sparking fury.
The same year, Torbett was found guilty of abusing a 13-year-old boy.