Ex-snooker champion Graeme Dott found guilty of sexually abusing children

Snooker Legend Graeme Dott Convicted of Child Sexual Abuse After Glasgow Trial

Traveloasisspot.com – The man who once stood atop the world snooker rankings has been stripped of that halo in a very different arena. Graeme Dott, the 49-year-old former world champion, was found guilty on Monday of sexually abusing two children who were primary school age at the time. The verdicts, delivered by majority after a five-day trial at the High Court in Glasgow, bring to a close a case that has cast a long shadow over one of Scottish sport’s most celebrated careers.

The two counts of lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour spanned more than a decade. A girl was targeted repeatedly between 1993 and 1996, while a boy endured multiple incidents of abuse between 2006 and 2010. Both sets of offences took place in the Glasgow area, and the court heard that Dott exposed himself to both children, touched them in ways deemed inappropriate, and kissed them.

Testimony from the First Victim

One of the victims, now a woman in her 40s, gave detailed evidence over the course of the trial. She recalled that the abuse began with Dott giving her a piggyback ride while simultaneously “caressing” her bottom through her clothing. On another occasion, she described how he proposed a “guessing game” in which she was meant to identify what he was doing. She lay down, and he exposed himself before touching her with various parts of his body, including his penis.

“He told me not to tell anyone he was sexually abusing me,” the woman told the court.

That instruction, she said, shaped years of silence before she eventually came forward.

Testimony from the Second Victim

The second victim, a man now in his late 20s, described a pattern of abuse that unfolded largely in the shower. Dott would enter the bathroom either partly or fully undressed, apply soap to the boy’s body, and wash him while touching him in places the witness said were inappropriate.

“He would… come into the shower and put soap on my body and wash me in the shower. While he was washing me he would touch me in inappropriate places.”

Looking back with adult understanding, the man told jurors that Dott was “clearly getting sexual gratification from it” and was “pleasuring himself” during these encounters. Because of his young age at the time, he said he “did not know what was going on” and only later recognised the interaction “wasn’t right.”

The witness also recounted abuse that occurred inside a car, where Dott would kiss him on the face, head, and lips, and “push himself up against me.”

Dott’s Denial and Cross-Examination

Giving evidence last week, Dott insisted there was “absolutely no way” he had sexually abused two children. Under cross-examination by prosecutor Lindsey Dalziel, he denied ever being attracted to the girl when she was young, describing the suggestion as “disgusting.” When Ms Dalziel put to him that he had touched the first victim and directed what she should do, he rejected the allegation outright, labelling it “lies.”

Regarding the second victim, Dott stated the boy was “never in my company” and denied every allegation of abuse levelled against him.

Closing Arguments and Verdict

In her closing speech on Friday, Ms Dalziel urged the jury to convict on both charges. She framed the Crown’s position in stark terms:

“The Crown’s case is that Graeme Dott subjected vulnerable children to the worst kind of abuse with a course of conduct which relied on opportunity, for his own gratification.”

Dott’s defence counsel, Euan Dow, had asked jurors to acquit on both counts. They did not. The trial, which opened on August 18, concluded with majority verdicts of guilty.

Judicial Response and Sentencing

Judge Lord Harrower addressed the convicted man directly in court.

“You have been convicted of charges involving sexual abuse of young children. I will refrain from passing comment further on any of these offences until I receive a background report from a social worker as I must in order to consider the full range of sentences open to me. You must register your name and address with the police so your name can be added to the sex offenders register.”

Sentence was deferred until September 29 at the High Court in Edinburgh. Dott was remanded in custody pending that hearing.

A Career in Context

The conviction lands against the backdrop of a snookering career that reached its zenith in 2006, when Dott defeated Peter Ebdon in the World Championship final at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. He turned professional in 1994 and reached the world final on two further occasions, losing to Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2004 and to Neil Robertson in 2010. For fans who followed his run through the Crucible over those years, the Glasgow courtroom verdict marks a painful and unexpected chapter in a story that once seemed defined solely by the green baize.