A man targeted by football paedophile Hugh Stevenson has told how his ordeal at the predator’s hands still haunts him.
Stuart McMillan, of Paisley, was targeted by twisted SFA official Stevenson as a 17-year-old and admits it left an “indelible mark”.
He says he is still haunted by his ordeal and questions whether he “gave out signals” which led to him being targeted.
Former prison officer Stuart was abused by Stevenson - who serially raped victim Pete Haynes between the ages of 12 and 16 - in his car on the way home.
Don't miss the latest headlines from around Renfrewshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
It is the same method he used to target 56-year-old Pete, whose abuse began in Stevenson’s car on the way home after he attended a showpiece Scottish Cup game at Hampden.
The rogue football official, who was on the SFA’s books as an assistant referee between the 1960s and the 1980s, used his links to football’s top flight to line up young victims.
Stuart is the only other victim of Stevenson, who died in 2004 aged 66, to have come forward but the pair fear there are many more.
He told the Express: “I always wonder if it has affected my life. I’m single, I’m on my own. I was married once, engaged a couple of times but it never developed into anything.“
Stuart, now 60, was put in touch with a specialist Glasgow law firm four years ago, where he was assessed by specialist clinical psychologist.
He said: “We sat in their office for two hours and I told him things I haven’t told anybody.
“The guy’s report basically said it could have been a contributory factor to the fact Mr McMillan hasn’t been able to hold down a long-term relationship.”
Stuart, of Foxbar, admits he was a “naive” 17-year-old during the more innocent times of 1979 when Stevenson struck.
The predator befriended him after he began training as a football referee but then later preyed on him as they returned from a function which followed a football match between referees.
He said: “I was put in touch with a course for referees at the Methodist Central Hall. It was only two or three weeks after the course started when they were talking about a friendly football match.
“At the time I was rather naive. I had two small bottles of beer and I was feeling dizzy, I wasn’t falling over but he said he would give me a lift home.
“He mentioned at the time he was a former pupil of my dad’s and I suppose that made me let my guard down.
“The football game had taken place at Neilston Juniors then there was the function after it at the Orange Hall just down the road from West Primary.
“We were in the car on the way home when he struck.
“The guy’s modus operandi was ‘Right, come on then Stuart, I’ll take you home’. He sat me in his car and said ‘Are you not feeling well?’ I said I was a wee bit dizzy.
“He had you hold the gear stick in his car. He encouraged me to undo my flies and he was straight in. He said ‘You can do it to me, there’s nothing wrong with it’.”
Stuart fled when he was dropped off by Stevenson and avoided him at all costs.
His parents died without ever knowing what had happened to their son.
Stuart saw Stevenson again some time later and the memory of the incident came flooding back.
He said: “I quit the referee’s course straight away but some time later I was standing at a bus stop in Paisley waiting for the bus to Linwood.
“I’m sure it was a Thursday night, the course was on, when I saw his car pulling up at the halls, he glanced over and saw it was me and then did a double take.
“He went inside the hall and didn’t come back out. I really thought I was going to run, I was in such a panic.
“My parents knew nothing about it. They died without knowing, I was scared to tell them. I thought it was my fault.
“I didn’t know if I did something to give him the wrong impression. I always felt like my parents would blame me. I racked my brains thinking had I done something.
“I think it’s done me damage ... carrying it with me for a long time.”
Stuart says even heading home on the bus after a night out with a pal whose head fell onto his shoulder when he fell asleep was enough to spark panic in him.
He added: “I have never been offered counselling. The SFA I have absolutely zero confidence in.
“What the SFA have got away with this far is obscene.
“This has left an indelible mark but what I went through is nothing compared to what Pete has had to put up with.”
Stevenson was never brought to justice for his crimes and neither man has received compensation for their ordeal.
Pete, went to police and the SFA in the 1990s but Stevenson never went to court to face his crimes.
Both men fear there are more victims who have never come forward.
Pete, who lived in Paisley’s Greenock Road as a youngster, close to his abuser, has told how he fears Stevenson was active from at least the 1970s until his death and potentially has “more victims than Jimmy Savile”.
He fears vile Stevenson was part of a paedophile ring operating in Paisley during the 1970s.
The SFA declined to comment due to ongoing legal action.
Download the FREE Renfrewshire Live app now for all the latest news, features and sport in your area. Available on both Android and Apple. Download here: smarturl.it/RenfrewLiveSocial
