A Paisley man has told how he faced a desperate wait as a child to join Ferguslie's former leisure centre, only to fall prey to a twisted paedophile once he was there.
Serial predator Hugh Stevenson won the youngster's confidence by giving him 50p at the town's Apex Centre.
But it was a move to groom the boy, whom he later preyed on.
The man, who asked not to be named, has come forward as the sixth known victim of former assistant referee Stevenson whom, it has emerged, preyed on a string of youngsters as he built links through youth organisations in Paisley and beyond.
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He spoke out after reading of the ordeal of other victims of Stevenson's revealed by an Express probe.
The man, who still lives in the town, said: "I was absolutely desperate to join the Apex, or Ferguslie leisure centre as it was then.
"You had to be ten to become a member at the time and I was desperate to be ten, so I could go. As soon as I hit ten, I was all excited to go and see the different things you could do there.
"One day when I was there, there was something on and you needed 50p for some event or other. I spat the dummy a wee bit because I didn't have it and I was standing there. I felt a tug at my hood, it was the days of the parka, and there was 50p in it.
"That was my admission money and Stevenson was standing there smiling. From then on he became more familiar and we gradually spoke."
It was a first step to win the youngster over in what was going to become a catalogue of abuse.
The victim's older brother, who was already a member of the Apex centre, and older kids already knew twisted Stevenson before he fell into his clutches in 1974.
Added the victim: "This went on for a while. Stevenson also used to take one of my brothers and some friends to the chip shop on a Monday night. I was 10 years-old and we were going to the chippy on a Monday night. He also gave you the odd ten pence or something.
"I noticed he was popular with people round about, adults as well."
But the victim soon noticed that Stevenson's popularity hid a darker secret.
He told how he fell prey to the beast, adding: "He used to take you swimming and he would get a wee bit too friendly when you were getting changed. He would take you into the changing room to dry you off and then molest you there.
"There was a time when my brother and his friends were going to some sort of campsite. My brother told me I couldn't go, me being ten, I said I would tell my mother and she said 'If he can't go, you can't go' sort of thing. We drove to the campsite, I'm not sure where it was,
"I remember we were trying to get the tent set up and they were having a bit of difficulty, my brother and his pals went away to get something to get the tent set up and I can't remember what words Stevenson used but he left me a state of fear. He lay me down and began to fondle me."
The man, now 58, continued: "We went a drive and we saw my brother, he was standing at a lane with some girl and Stevenson made some comment to me, about what he was doing, sort of thing and I said something like 'that's my brother for you'. He took me back to the tent and molested me.
"I couldn't wait to get back home. I tried to keep my distance from him but he would take me to run me home. It was the same sort of thing. He would let you touch the gearstick and then say 'how does that feel?'
"He would undo his trousers and get me to touch him and ask me what it felt like.
"I could not wait to get out of that car."
And brazen Stevenson also managed to earn the trust of the man's parents. He said: "He came round and met my parents. In fact, I remember one time he had been away on holiday and when I went home my mother said 'your friend Hugh was here, he left you a present from Spain'. It was about the size of a place mat and it was an ashtray with a wee gold bull or something on it.
"I was full of anger. I just took it into my room and took my anger out on it and smashed it up."
But there were clues that some sections of the community knew Stevenson's dark secret, adds the victim: "I remember standing watching a football match in the grounds at Ferguslie and Stevenson was around.
"I remember somebody shouted 'paedophile'. He asked me if I knew what they were shouting about."
The victim fell away from the club in a bid to remove himself from Stevenson's clutches. He told the Express: "I never told my parents about it. They died without me telling them. I didn't want them to know because they would have felt like they had let me down.
"I feel like I should have spoken up."
Victim Pete Haynes has waived his right to anonymity in a bid to get justice for Stevenson’s victims.
A total of six men have now come forward to reveal that they were victims of the predator in the 1960s
and 70s since the Express began our investigation.
It comes after high-profile victim Pete told how he fears his abuser had "more victims than Jimmy Savile”.
He harbours concerns that a subversive paedophile ring was in operation in the area during the
period.
Despite a probe after social care worker Pete went to police in 1993 and again in 1996, Stevenson was
never brought to justice.
He was serially raped by the beast between the ages of 12 and 16 as a schoolboy footballer after the predator won the trust of his parents and took him to a glittering Scottish Cup match at Hampden in 1979.
In the way home in the car the beast, who was always decked out in an SFA blazer, began a cycle of torment which lasted until distraught Pete stood up to his abuser as a 16-year-old.
The ordeal shattered Pete, who grew up just yards from the home of his attacker in Paisley’s Greenock Road.
Stevenson, who is believed to have been on the Scottish Football Association’s books as an assistant referee between the 1960s and the 1980s, had links to a number of youth football teams, including Glasgow’s Eastercraigs and Ferguslie United.
It has also now emerged after our probe that he fostered links to youth organisations in Renfrewshire and beyond, including the Boys Brigade, Ferguslie’s long-defunct Apex Centre and Glasgow football side Eastercraigs boys’ club.
He died in 2004 without ever facing a court for his crimes and victims including Pete, who now lives in Fife, and Paisley man Stuart McMillan.
The duo launched a legal action against the SFA but the bid stalled on legal technicalities.
They fear a “cover up” as led to their bid to see justice defeated.
Sickened Pete also wrote to the Scottish Government demanding a platform for victims of abuse in football after a move to investigate their plight as part of the ongoing Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry was denied.
Pete said: “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 go back and tell people exactly what happened to me, it takes a toll on my life all over again.”
He fears victims run into hundreds because Stevenson had “unfettered access” to youngsters from at least the 1970s and Pete believes he may have remained active until his death.
We also told how 60-year-old Foxbar man Stuart McMillan was targeted by Stevenson who molested him as a 17-year-old after he signed up to train as a football referee.
Now the pair who admit they “don’ trust” the authorities, are hopeful that the emergence of new victims will fuel their campaign for justice.
Police Scotland has vowed to examine any new evidence.
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