A former Paisley man raped as a youngster by a rogue football official who preyed on boys in his care, has called for the Scottish Government to do more for those abused in sport.
Pete Haynes has written to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urging her to include survivors of football abuse in the ongoing Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry.
The probe, ordered by the Scottish Government, was established in 2015 to examine institutional abuse in care settings - including residential schools run by religious orders - following a series of scandals.
But Pete, now 56, says it should include youngsters who suffered abuse at the hands of officials in sports settings.
And he fears there has been a "cover up" by the sport's governing organisations.
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He told the Express: "People like me, who suffered abuse in football at the hands of Hugh Stevenson, have never had the chance to stand up and tell their story and tell people what happened to them.
"I have had to fight myself to get my story out there. I have had to tell psychologists and therapists, doctors and journalists and every time I have go back and tell people exactly what happened to me, it takes a toll on my life all over again."
Pete, who says he didn't even speak to a lawyer about his ordeal until a journalist pointed him in the direction of a specialist legal team in 2017, has spoken only to a handful of trusted reporters in a bid to highlight his plight.
He suffered regular abuse at the hands of youth football coach Stevenson between the ages of 12 and 16.
Pete was repeatedly raped by Stevenson after his attacker -who was for a time a top-flight SFA registered match official - used his status to take the youngster to Hampden and started his cycle of abuse on the way home in the car.
He has waived his right to anonymity to speak out in a bid to help others and secure justice.
The care worker, who now lives in Fife, earlier told the Express how he believes beast Stevenson may have been part of a subversive paedophile ring operating in Paisley from at least the 1970s.
He fears his attacker may have had "more victims that Jimmy Savile" as he had: "access over decades to tens of thousands of children".
Pete fears the twisted paedophile may have abused children from at least the 1970s up until his death in 2004 and claims he also had links to schools in the area, he says: "He had unfettered access to anybody he wanted.”
But The Scottish Government have knocked back the request, saying it would broaden the remit of the inquiry, before Lady Smith, and take too long.
Pete told the Express: "I've had to do all this. I haven't had the means at my disposal that these people have, it's just been me in my house with my mobile phone.
"It has taken its toll on my life, I lost education, I lost my football, I was angry and every time I go over it with people, it take a toll again."
The abuse only stopped when 16-year-old Pete stood up to Stevenson and told him his ordeal was over and it would never happen again.
But he admits it left him a ball of emotions.
He got into trouble with the law and even believed he had AIDS, known as the 'gay plague' in less well-informed times because of the abuse he suffered.
It also left Pete, who "only ever liked girls", confused. He said: " back in those days it was talked about as if that’s how you became gay as people said then but I knew I was only interested in girls.”
Pete, who lived in Paisley's Greenock Road as a youngster, even lived close to his abuser.
He went to the authorities in the 1990s but never saw anyone brought to justice for his ordeal.
Added Pete: "My position over the years is that I seem to have become one of the most high-profile people who has come out to talk about this but I still haven't really had my say.
"I've never been asked to stand up in Parliament and tell my story or tell people what happened. I've done it all myself through journalists."
Pete is still in talks with the SFA, who recently offered him further counselling. He said: "I don't really trust them, it's hard for me to talk to them.
"I probably won't get a lot of answers. They offer counselling sessions but I've done counselling sessions and support groups and after 40-odd years, these things are of no use to me.
"After all this time there isn't much else they can do for me."
Pete has never been compensated for the ordeal he suffered and said he has little faith in investigations conducted by the SFA and the Scottish Youth Football Association (SYFA).
Renfrewshire-based SYFA official Mitch Agnew, was cleared to return in 2017 over allegations that he failed to act on allegations of child sexual abuse made in the 1990s.
.Youth football's governing body launched an investigation into Mr Agnew's conduct after they were made aware of allegations in 1999, but cleared him of any wrongdoing as they were "unable to identify any substantive proof" during a 2016 investigation.
Pete claims his mum, shattered after he finally revealed his abuse to his parents as an adult, tracked Mr Agnew down at his home and told him of her son's ordeal.
But he was cleared for a return and landed an award for his services to sport at the Sports Council for Glasgow's annual awards in November 2017.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Youth FA said “A full and comprehensive investigation into SYFA staff conduct in relation to this case was carried out in late 2016 and early 2017.
"Results of this investigation were communicated to the appropriate parties at the time, including the police to assist with any ongoing investigation into the original case."
Pete's civil legal action against the SFA has stalled on legal technicalities.
A spokesman for the organisation declined to comment.
The Scottish Government said: "Our sympathies are with all victims of abuse.
“The Scottish Government takes the abuse of children in all circumstances very seriously and acknowledges that the abuse of children is wrong and harmful.
Their spokesman added: "As outlined in his letter to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee last month, the Deputy First Minister has given careful consideration to whether to widen the remit of the inquiry that is currently focused on the abuse of children in care.
“However, it was concluded in 2016 that a wider remit would in practice take the inquiry many more years to complete its investigations, findings and subsequent recommendations. This would mean the Scottish Government failing in its commitment to survivors of in-care abuse to learn from their experience, and address the systemic failures which existed, to ensure such abuse can never happen again.
"There will be wider learning from SCAI and the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales about cultural and organisational factors that made children less safe and allowed abuse to perpetuate. These can be applied to other settings and circumstances.
“A significant amount of learning and improved practice has also emerged from the independent Review of Sexual Abuse in Scottish Football commissioned by the Scottish FA Board in February 2017. The response included the publication in 2020 of a five-year strategy to transform safeguarding and child protection across the whole of Scottish football.”
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