Court Convicts Graeme Dott, Jails Former World Snooker Champion for Seven Years

Former world snooker champion Graeme Dott has been sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing two children in Scotland.

Dott, 49, was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday after being found guilty last month of two counts of lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour involving a girl and a boy.

The offences occurred between 1993 and 2010, when both victims were children. The girl was abused between 1993 and 1996, while the offences involving the boy took place between 2006 and 2010, according to court reporting.

Dott had denied the allegations but was convicted following a five-day trial at the High Court in Glasgow. Police Scotland confirmed that he was found guilty of sexual offences committed in the Glasgow and Larkhall areas.

During Tuesday’s sentencing, Judge Lord Harrower said Dott had “robbed the complainers of a significant part of their childhood” and described his conduct as a gross violation of trust, according to the Associated Press. The seven-year sentence was backdated.

Dott has also been placed on the sex offenders register.

Police Scotland said the conviction followed information provided by people affected by the offences and stressed that investigations into sexual and violent abuse would continue regardless of how much time had passed.

Detective Inspector Gary Smillie said the conviction demonstrated the importance of victims coming forward and providing information that can assist investigations.

The criminal case marks a dramatic fall for a player who once stood at the top of professional snooker.

Dott won the World Snooker Championship in 2006, defeating Peter Ebdon in the final at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre. He had also reached the world championship final in 2004 and 2010.

His professional career had already been suspended after he was charged in April 2025. Following his conviction, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association revoked his membership, while his name was removed from the World Snooker Hall of Fame.

Dott turned professional in 1994 and competed at the highest level of the sport for more than three decades before the criminal case brought his career to an end.