Former world snooker champion Graeme Dott jailed for seven years for child sexual abuse

September 29, 2026 at 04:21 PM2 min

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Former world snooker champion Graeme Dott was sentenced to seven years in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday for child sexual abuse. Judge Lord Harrower said Dott robbed his victims of 'a significant part of their childhood' and that his behaviour bore the hallmarks of grooming. The 49-year-old Scot, who won the world title in 2006, showed no emotion as he was led away.

Key Facts

Graeme Dott was sentenced to seven years in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Dott was convicted of two charges of lewd and libidinous behaviour towards a girl and a boy between 1993 and 2010.
The sentence was backdated to 24 August, when Dott was remanded in custody.
Dott will remain on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.
Judge Lord Harrower said Dott's victims experienced 'overwhelming emotions of fear, shame and anger' affecting their mental health into adulthood.

The Sentence

Graeme Dott was sentenced to seven years in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh. Judge Lord Harrower said Dott robbed his victims of 'a significant part of their childhood' and that his behaviour bore the hallmarks of grooming. The 49-year-old Scot, who won the world snooker title in 2006, showed no emotion as he was sentenced, only nodding to someone in the public gallery as he was led away. The sentence of seven years has been backdated to 24 August, when Dott was remanded in custody. He will spend the rest of his life on the sex offenders register.

The Abuse

Dott had denied two charges of lewd and libidinous behaviour towards a girl and a boy between 1993 and 2010 but was found guilty following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow. Lord Harrower told the High Court in Edinburgh that each of Dott's victims were vulnerable for reasons beyond their age. He said Dott rewarded the victims with treats and disguised his abuse as being part of a game. The former snooker champion was 16 or 17 when he abused the girl, who was about nine when her ordeal began. Dott's abuse of the second victim - a boy aged about eight - began about 10 years later.

Court Statements

The court heard that he warned them they would not be believed if they told anyone about his actions. The judge added Dott's victims had experienced 'overwhelming emotions of fear, shame and anger' as a result of the abuse, affecting their mental health into adulthood. Dott's behaviour towards the children 'involved a gross violation of trust'. As Lord Harrower addressed him, Dott repeatedly shook his head in apparent disbelief. The judge added social work reports have deemed Dott poses a 'below average risk of reoffending', but as he still maintains his innocence, Lord Harrower could not take into account any remorse from Dott.