Graeme Dott has been sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing two children in separate periods spanning more than a decade.
The former world snooker champion, 49, was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh after a five-day trial at the High Court in Glasgow resulted in guilty verdicts on two counts of lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour. The offences involved a girl and a boy who were both of primary school age at the time. Dott denied the allegations.
The girl was abused between 1993 and 1996, while the boy was abused between 2006 and 2010, according to evidence heard during the trial. The court heard that Dott exposed himself to both children, touched them inappropriately and kissed them.
At Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Lord Harrower said Dott had “robbed the complainers of a significant part of their childhood”. The judge described the conduct as a “gross violation of trust” and said it carried the hallmarks of grooming.
The two victims, who cannot be identified, gave evidence about the abuse during the trial. One is now a woman in her 40s and the other is a man in his late 20s.
The woman told the court that the abuse began when she was a child and occurred on several occasions. She described an incident in which Dott allegedly exposed himself to her and touched her, and said he told her not to tell anyone about what was happening. The court heard that the abuse continued over a period of several years.
The second victim told jurors that Dott abused him on multiple occasions between 2006 and 2010. Some of the incidents took place while he was showering, with the court hearing that Dott would enter the shower and touch him inappropriately. The man also described incidents in a car involving unwanted kissing and sexual contact.
The prosecution argued that Dott had exploited his access to vulnerable children for his own sexual gratification. Dott rejected the allegations throughout the case and told the court there was “absolutely no way” he had sexually abused the two children. The jury nevertheless convicted him by majority verdict in August.
Dott was remanded in custody following his conviction. His name has also been placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.
His imprisonment marks a dramatic end to a career that once placed him at the top of professional snooker. Dott turned professional in 1994 and reached the World Championship final at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre three times.
He lost to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the 2004 final before winning the title two years later, defeating Peter Ebdon to become world champion in 2006. He returned to the final in 2010 but was beaten by Australia’s Neil Robertson.
Following his conviction, Dott was removed from World Snooker’s Hall of Fame. His suspension from professional snooker had already followed the criminal proceedings against him.
The sentencing brings the criminal case to another significant stage, but the conviction has also fundamentally changed the public record surrounding a player whose name had been associated for decades with one of snooker’s biggest achievements.
