Former snooker world champion Graeme Dott jailed for child sex abuse

Former snooker world champion Graeme Dott has been sentenced to seven years in jail after being 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 and 1996 and the boy between 2006 and 2010.Dott appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday, where Judge Sean Smith told him he had “robbed the complainers of a significant part of their childhood”.Imposing a backdated sentence of seven years, he said Dott’s behaviour had involved a “gross violation of trust”.READ MOREA five-day trial heard Dott exposed himself in front of both children, touched them inappropriately and kissed them.In August, 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.She told the court that Dott had sexually abused her on multiple separate occasions while she was a child.The second victim, a man who is now in his late 20s, said he was sexually abused by Dott on multiple occasions.Graeme Dott at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday, as he was sentenced to seven years in jail. Photograph: PA Video/PA Wire Dott had denied the charges but was found guilty by the jury.The judge remanded him in custody and his name was added to the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.Sentencing Dott, the judge said both children were vulnerable and his actions bore “the hallmarks of grooming”.Referring to the girl as Jane and the boy as Kevin, both pseudonyms, he said: “In both cases the abuse included penetrative sexual activity and in the case of Jane behaviour that would now be classed as rape.”The judge said that, while the offending against Jane happened while Dott was still a child aged around 16 or 17 himself, the offences against Kevin took place while Dott was an adult.He said: “You robbed the complainers of a significant part of their childhood.”The judge said Dott’s only previous convictions had been for “relatively minor road traffic offences”.Dott’s lawyer Euan Dow spoke in mitigation at the hearing in Edinburgh.He said the 49-year-old was now separated from his wife but she remains supportive of him.Dow said his client had left school aged 15 to pursue a career as a professional snooker player.Dott has “long-standing mental health issues” and “recognises that a custodial sentence is inevitable”, he said.Dow said that following the conviction “both his personal and professional reputations have been destroyed”, noting that Dott has been removed from World Snooker’s hall of fame.The court heard Dott continues to maintain his innocence.Dott, who turned professional in 1994, won the World Snooker Championship in 2006, defeating Peter Ebdon in the final at the Crucible in Sheffield.He reached the final in two other years but was beaten by Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2004 and Neil Robertson in 2010. – PA