Graeme Dott, Former World Snooker Champion, Sentenced to Seven Years for Child Sexual Abuse

Graeme Dott, the Scottish snooker player who reached the sport's highest peak by winning the world championship in 2006, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for sexually abusing two children over a period spanning nearly two decades. The 49-year-old was handed the sentence at the High Court in Edinburgh after a jury found him guilty of two charges of lewd and libidinous behaviour involving a girl and a boy.

Lord Harrower, the judge presiding over the sentencing, told Dott that he had deprived his victims of a significant portion of their childhood. The judge described the conduct as bearing the classic indicators of grooming, noting that Dott used rewards and treats to manipulate the children and framed his abuse as a game. Each victim, Lord Harrower observed, was vulnerable for reasons extending beyond their young age.

The court heard that Dott was only 16 or 17 years old when the abuse of the first victim, a girl, began. She was approximately nine years old at the time. His abuse of the second victim, a boy who was around eight years old, started roughly a decade later. The judge noted that Dott warned both children that nobody would believe them if they disclosed what he had done, a tactic commonly used by abusers to maintain silence and control.

Throughout the sentencing hearing, Dott maintained his innocence and showed no visible reaction as the punishment was announced. According to courtroom reports, he shook his head repeatedly in apparent disbelief while Lord Harrower addressed him, and he nodded only to someone in the public gallery as security officers led him away. Because Dott continues to deny the offences, the judge stated he could not factor any expression of remorse into the sentence.

The court heard harrowing details about the lasting toll on the victims. Lord Harrower said both had endured overwhelming feelings of fear, shame and anger, and that the abuse had damaged their mental health well into adulthood. He characterised Dott's actions as a gross violation of trust, underscoring the power imbalance that existed between the adult snooker star and the children in his orbit.

During the trial at the High Court in Glasgow, prosecutors presented evidence that Dott had exposed himself and inappropriately touched a primary school girl during the 1990s, and had attacked a young boy between 2006 and 2010. The girl, who is now a woman in her 40s, testified that Dott had caressed her bottom while carrying her on his back and that he had exposed himself to her on a separate occasion. She also described an incident in which he suggested she take her trousers down and then lifted her top and kissed her stomach after asking if she wanted to play a guessing game.

The woman told the court that Dott kissed her, touched her inappropriately and performed a sexual act that would constitute rape under current legislation. She recalled the smell of creams he used for a skin condition after he kissed her, and said his behaviour left her feeling shocked and frightened. The court also heard that Dott gave her a teddy bear with a love heart on it during the period of abuse, a detail that prosecutors presented as part of a pattern of grooming and emotional manipulation.

The case had a lengthy and complex history. Police first contacted Dott about the allegations in 2001, but no charges were brought at that time. The woman eventually provided a new statement to police in 2025, which reopened the investigation and ultimately led to his prosecution. Dott had publicly dismissed the allegations as disgusting when they first resurfaced, maintaining that stance throughout the legal proceedings.

Defence counsel Euan Dow told the court that Dott, a father of two, is now separated from his wife but continues to receive support from family and friends. Dow said Dott suffers from long-standing mental health issues and argued that his personal and professional reputations had been destroyed. Social work reports assessed Dott as posing a below-average risk of reoffending, though the judge noted that this assessment could not be balanced against any acknowledgement of wrongdoing.

The court also learned that Dott has already faced threats while in custody and was moved to a different prison as a result. His seven-year sentence has been backdated to 24 August, the date he was remanded in custody following his conviction. In addition to the prison term, Dott will remain on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life, a designation that carries significant restrictions on his future movements and activities.

Speaking after the sentencing, Procurator Fiscal Faye Cook of the Crown Office said Dott had achieved success and public admiration but had exploited the trust of two children to abuse and coerce them. She described his criminal behaviour as his downfall and said he now faces the consequences. Cook also emphasised that justice has no time limit, encouraging anyone who has suffered historical abuse to come forward and report it, regardless of how much time has passed.

The case serves as a stark reminder that public achievement and celebrity status offer no protection against accountability, and that the passage of time does not diminish the seriousness of child sexual abuse. It also highlights the evolving nature of historical abuse investigations, where victims who were once silenced by fear or disbelief can find their voices years later. For Dott's victims, the sentence represents a measure of justice after decades of carrying the weight of what happened to them.