Former world snooker champion Graeme Dott found guilty of sexually abusing children

Graeme Dott Convicted of Child Sexual Abuse After Glasgow Trial

Wanderstayfinder.com – Scotland’s most celebrated snooker player of the modern era has been stripped of his public standing after a Glasgow jury returned guilty verdicts on two counts of lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour. Graeme Dott, 49, who captured the World Snooker Championship title in 2006, was found to have sexually abused two children during their primary school years. The verdicts, delivered by majority on Monday following a five-day trial at the High Court in Glasgow, bring to a close a case that spanned more than two decades of alleged misconduct.

The two victims — a woman now in her 40s and a man in his late 20s — were targeted in separate periods. The girl was subjected to abuse between 1993 and 1996, while the boy endured repeated incidents between 2006 and 2010. Both episodes took place within the Glasgow area. The jury heard that Dott exposed himself to both children, touched them inappropriately, and kissed them on multiple occasions.

Testimony From the First Victim

One of the two victims, a woman who gave evidence during the trial, described a pattern of abuse that began when she was a young child. She recounted how Dott would carry her on his back and, while doing so, caress her bottom through her clothing. On another occasion, he proposed a “guessing game” in which she was meant to identify what he was doing. She told the court she lay down while he exposed himself and then touched her with various parts of his body, including his penis.

“He told me not to tell anyone he was sexually abusing me,” the woman said, describing the instruction Dott gave her after each incident.

Testimony From the Second Victim

The second victim, a man now in his late 20s, described repeated episodes of abuse that frequently occurred in a shower. He told the court that Dott would enter the bathroom either partly or fully undressed and proceed to wash him.

“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,” the man said.

He added that, looking back, Dott was “clearly getting sexual gratification from it” and was “pleasuring himself” during these encounters. Because of his young age at the time, the man said he “did not know what was going on” and only later understood the interaction “wasn’t right.” He also described abuse that took place in 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

When called to give evidence the previous week, Dott maintained there was “absolutely no way” he had sexually abused two children. Under cross-examination by prosecutor Lindsey Dalziel, he denied being attracted to the girl when she was young, describing the suggestion as “disgusting.” When Dalziel put to him that he had touched the first victim and instructed her on what to do, he rejected the allegation outright, calling it “lies.” Regarding the second victim, Dott stated the man was “never in my company” and denied every count of abuse levelled against him.

Closing Arguments and Verdict

In her closing speech on Friday, Dalziel urged the jury to convict on both charges, framing the Crown’s case as one of a trusted adult exploiting vulnerable children for personal gratification.

“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,” Dalziel told the court.

Dott’s defence counsel, Euan Dow, had asked jurors to acquit on both counts. The trial, which opened on 18 August, concluded with majority guilty verdicts on both charges.

Sentencing Deferred

Judge Lord Harrower addressed Dott immediately after the verdicts were read. He informed the former champion that he must register his name and address with the police so that his details can be entered on the sex offenders register — a statutory requirement in Scotland that places convicted sex offenders under ongoing monitoring and disclosure obligations. Harrower indicated he would withhold comment on the offences until he received a background report from a social worker, a standard procedural step allowing the court to consider the full range of available sentences.

“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,” Harrower said.

Sentencing has been deferred until 29 September at the High Court in Edinburgh. Dott, who was remanded in custody following the verdicts, will await that hearing in prison.

Context and Implications

The conviction carries particular weight given Dott’s profile in Scottish sport. His 2006 World Championship victory made him the first Scottish player to win the title since Alex Higgins in 1979, and he remained a prominent figure on the professional circuit for years afterward. The charges of “lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour” are specific Scottish common-law offences that do not require proof of a single defined act; instead, they capture a pattern of conduct judged by the jury to be sexually offensive and directed at a child. The majority verdicts indicate that at least one juror on each count dissented, though the precise split was not disclosed.

The sex offenders register requirement means Dott will face ongoing obligations — including periodic notifications to police of any change of address — for a period determined by the court at sentencing. For victims of childhood sexual abuse in Scotland, the deferred sentencing process allows time for a social worker to compile a report covering the defendant’s background, any prior history, and the impact on the victims, all of which inform the judge’s final decision on the appropriate custodial or non-custodial sentence.