Description
Graeme Dott, 49, jailed for seven years and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life
Former world snooker champion Graeme Dott has been sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing two children. The 49-year-old, from Glasgow, will remain on the Sex Offenders Register for the rest of his life.
Dott denied two charges of lewd and libidinous behaviour towards a girl and a boy between 1993 and 2010. A jury at the High Court in Glasgow found him guilty in August 2026 after a five-day trial. Lord Harrower sentenced him on 29 September 2026 at the High Court in Edinburgh. The term was backdated to 24 August, when he was remanded in custody.
He showed no emotion as sentence was passed, nodding to someone in the public gallery as he was led away. During the judge’s remarks he repeatedly shook his head.
The offences
The first victim was a girl of about nine. The abuse began in 1993, when Dott was 16 or 17, and continued until 1996. Police contacted him about those allegations in 2001, but no charges followed. The woman, now in her 40s, gave a further statement in 2025.
The second victim was a boy of about eight. That abuse began around 2006 — the year Dott won the World Snooker Championship — and continued until 2010. The boy is now a man in his 20s.
The offence of lewd and libidinous practices covers sexual crimes against children committed before 1 December 2010. It was abolished in 2009 but remains the correct charge for earlier conduct.
The court heard that Dott warned both children they would not be believed if they told anyone. He denied the allegations at trial and described them as “disgusting.”
Judge’s remarks
Lord Harrower said each victim was vulnerable for reasons beyond their age. Dott’s conduct, he said, “bore the hallmarks of grooming”: he rewarded the children with treats and presented the abuse as a game. The judge said Dott had robbed them of “a significant part of their childhood” and that the abuse was “a gross violation of trust.”
The victims, the court was told, had lived with “overwhelming emotions of fear, shame and anger,” with effects on their mental health into adulthood.
Social work reports assessed Dott as posing a “below average risk of reoffending.” Because he maintains his innocence, the judge said he could not treat remorse as a mitigating factor. The court also heard that Dott has already faced threats in prison and has been moved as a result.
Mitigation and previous record
Euan Dow, representing Dott, said the father of two is now separated from his wife but “continues to enjoy the support of his family and friends.” He said Dott has “long-standing mental health issues” and that his personal and professional reputations had been destroyed.
Dott has two previous convictions, both minor road traffic offences, from 2013 and 2015.
Prosecution comment
Procurator Fiscal Faye Cook, of the Crown Office, said: “Graeme Dott achieved success and public admiration but, in private, he exploited the trust of two children to abuse and coerce them. Dott’s criminal behaviour has been his downfall and he now faces the consequences of his actions.”
She added that “justice has no time limit” and urged other victims of historical abuse to come forward.
Sporting sanctions
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association suspended Dott from all professional activity on 9 April 2025. After the conviction it permanently revoked his membership. He was removed from the World Snooker Tour Hall of Fame and relegated from the professional ranking list at the end of the 2025/26 season.
Dott won the world title in 2006 by beating Peter Ebdon at the Crucible. He was also a finalist in 2004 and 2010.