This is Part 1 of Tom's story.

Tom has never spoken publicly about what happened to him before.

In this episode we learn of another name in the list of abusers connected to Celtic Boys Club - Kenneth Divers. He worked as a scout for Celtic Football Club and carried out abuse for almost 25 years before being brought to justice.

Divers was convicted of abuse and sentenced to five years in prison for his crimes in June 2023.

Tom is a survivor of that abuse, it's not his real name.

In this episode Tom tells us:

• How Divers used his connections to Celtic to gain the trust of his victims
• How he groomed both Tom and his family - gaining their trust
• The terrifying lengths Tom would go to to escape what was happening to him
• How at his lowest point he was comforted by a legendary World Cup winner
• The abuse that happened at Hampden - Scotland's national football stadium
• And Divers used his role as a Scout for Celtic Football Club to impress young players, including using the name of legendary manager Jock Stein

In future episodes we'll explore the links between this story and the wider network of abusers around Celtic Boys Club.

Again, thank you to all the brave individuals who have come forward to share their story.

This podcast is free, but you can become a Patreon to help support the small team who work hard to tell this story. You can sign up here: https://patreon.com/TheCaseAgainstCelticBoysClub

Warning: the episode discusses issues which some people may find distressing.

If you or a member of your family has been affected by the issues in this podcast, you can find help and support here: https://www.mygov.scot/childhood-abuse

Support the podcast by hitting the subscribe button on whatever podcast platform you're listening on. And share with someone who you think might want to listen.

Host: Peter Henderson

I am Peter Henderson, a former producer at the BBC and a press and media communications consultant. This podcast is the product of my personal research and is not attributable to any organisation I have or continue to work with with in my capacity as a communications consultant.

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