Former World Snooker Champion Dott Jailed for Child Sex Abuse

Graeme Dott, once crowned world snooker champion, received a seven-year prison sentence from the High Court in Edinburgh on 29 September, having been found guilty on two counts of lewd, indecent and libidinous conduct toward two children.¹³⁴

The conviction

Dott, 49, was convicted by a majority verdict following a trial reported by Cyprus Mail/Reuters to have lasted five days at Glasgow High Court. His sentence was backdated, according to The Guardian.¹⁶

According to Sky Sports and NBC News, the case involved two primary school-age children, a girl and a boy, whom Dott exposed himself to, touched inappropriately and kissed.³²

The Guardian reported that the abuse of the first victim took place between 1993 and 1996, and that the second victim was abused between 2006 and 2010. Cyprus Mail/Reuters described the charges as spanning nearly two decades, from 1993 to 2010, without separating the two periods.¹⁶

According to ITV News London and NBC News, Lord Harrower stated that Dott's crimes against the first victim involved penetration that would today constitute rape under law, and that these acts started when Dott was roughly 16 or 17.⁸²

The victims

The first victim is now a woman in her 40s and the second victim a man in his late 20s, according to Cyprus Mail/Reuters and NBC News. Cyprus Mail/Reuters reported that the woman testified to repeated abuse in Glasgow during the 1990s, while the second victim gave evidence of abuse in South Lanarkshire between 2006 and 2010, when he was roughly eight years old at the outset.⁶²

The second victim recounted to the court: "He'd join me in the shower and lather soap over my body, washing me there. During the washing he'd touch me in places he shouldn't have." He testified that it was evident Dott derived sexual pleasure and was masturbating during these incidents, saying he had no understanding at the time of what was actually happening.¹

The judge's remarks

Sentencing Dott, Lord Harrower said: "you have robbed the complainers of a significant part of their childhood," describing the offending as a "gross violation of trust" that showed "the hallmarks of grooming".¹²⁵

Dott's response

Cyprus Mail/Reuters reported that Dott denied the allegations throughout the trial and that the jury rejected his defence. He continues to maintain his innocence, according to NBC News and SPORTbible.⁶²⁵

Dott described the allegations as "lies" and, separately, as "nonsense and lies," adding: "I have never acted inappropriately with anyone." His defence counsel, Euan Dow, said Dott "acknowledges both his personal and professional reputations have been completely destroyed".⁶⁵

Consequences and career

After his conviction, per reporting from Sky Sports, NBC News and Cyprus Mail/Reuters, Dott was entered onto the sex offender register and his name struck from snooker's Hall of Fame. Reuters, via players.bio, reported that the sport's governing body had barred Dott in April 2025 following charges of historical sexual offences, before ultimately terminating his membership for good.⁵⁷³²

SPORTbible reported that Dott has long-standing mental health issues, is separated from his wife, and had been the subject of threats in prison that led to him being moved.⁵

According to Sky Sports, SPORTbible and Reuters, Dott turned professional in 1994, a detail not confirmed by NBC News. Reports indicate he claimed the World Snooker Championship title in 2006, finished as runner-up in both 2004 and 2010, and climbed to a peak ranking of second in the world in the 2007/08 season.³⁵⁷