Ex-snooker champion Graeme Dott found guilty of sexually abusing children
The 49-year-old subjected a girl and a boy to multiple incidents of abuse
Former world snooker champion Graeme Dott, who won his title in Sheffield and played at the Crucible for years, has been found guilty of sexually abusing two primary school age children.
The 49-year-old subjected a girl and a boy to multiple incidents of abuse, with the girl targeted between 1993-1996 and the boy between 2006-2010.
A five-day trial the High Court in Glasgow heard Dott exposed himself in front of both children, touched them inappropriately, and kissed them.
On Monday, he was found guilty of two counts of lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour towards them.
During the trial, jurors heard from one of Dott’s victims, a woman now in her 40s, who said he had sexually abused her on multiple separate occasions while she was a child.
The woman told the court that Dott told her not to tell anyone he was sexually abusing her.
The second victim, a man who is now in his late 20s, said he was sexually abused by Dott on multiple occasions, with the snooker player touching him inappropriately, kissing him, and performing sexual acts.
He said looking back at it now, Dott was “clearly getting sexual gratification from it”, and he was “pleasuring himself” while this was taking place.
The man said that because of his age at the time, he “did not know what was going on”, and it was only later he realised the interaction “wasn’t right”..
Giving evidence last week, Dott had said there was “absolutely no way” he sexually abused two children.
Under cross-examination by prosecutor Lindsey Dalziel, Dott denied being attracted to the girl when she was young, calling the idea “disgusting”.
When Ms Dalziel put it to Dott that he touched the first victim and told her what to do, he denied the allegation and called it “lies”.
Speaking about the second victim, Dott said the boy was “never in my company” and denied all allegations of abuse.
In her closing speech on Friday, Ms Dalziel called on the jury to find Dott guilty of both charges.
She said: “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 lawyer, Euan Dow, had invited jurors to clear his client of both charges.
But Dott was found guilty on Monday following the trial which began on August 18.
Judge Lord Harrower told him: “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.”
He deferred sentence until September 29 at the High Court in Edinburgh.
The 49-year-old was remanded in custody.
Dott was crowned world champion in Sheffield in 2006.
He reached the final on two further occasions but was beaten by Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2004 and Neil Robertson in 2010.
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) has permanently revoked Dott’s membership with immediate effect.