Former World Snooker Champion Graeme Dott Found Guilty of Child Sexual Abuse

Former world snooker champion Graeme Dott has been found guilty of child sexual abuse. The 49-year-old denied two charges of lewd and libidinous behaviour towards a girl and a boy between 1993 and 2010. During a trial, the High Court in Glasgow heard that Dott had exposed himself and inappropriately touched a primary school girl in the 1990s and attacked a young boy between 2006 and 2010. Lord Harrower told Dott, who won the World Snooker Championship in 2006, he would be sentenced at a separate hearing in Edinburgh on 29 September. Dott, from Glasgow, covered his face with his hands and shook his head while the verdict was delivered by jurors following a five-day trial. He previously called the allegations made against him "disgusting". Lewd and libidinous practices refer to any sexual crimes against children committed prior to 1 December 2010. The offence was abolished in 2009, but is still used for crimes carried out before then. During the trial, the court heard how Dott had "caressed" the girl's bottom while giving her a piggyback and that, on another occasion, he had exposed himself to her. On another occasion, she said Dott suggested she "take her trousers down" and lifted her top and began kissing her stomach after asking if she wanted to "play a guessing game". The girl, now a woman in her 40s, said Dott would kiss her, touch her inappropriately and carried out a sexual act that would, if committed now, amount to rape. She said she recalled the "smell" of creams Dott used for a skin condition after he kissed her and that the actions left her "shocked and scared". The court heard how Dott bought her a teddy bear with a love heart on it in the course of the abuse. Police previously contacted Dott about the allegations in 2001, but no charges were brought. The woman gave a new statement to police in 2025. During his evidence, the boy said his abuse at the hands of Dott began not long after he defeated Peter Ebdon to win his sole world title at The Crucible in Sheffield in 2006. The boy, now a man in his 20s, said he was about eight years old when Dott molested him in a shower at a home in South Lanarkshire. He told the court how Dott "rewarded" him with crisps and fizzy drinks and once handed him a £50 note, only to accuse the boy of stealing it when his parents found out he had the money. He also said he was abused in a car on a number of occasions and "inappropriately touched" while Dott played online poker. The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) said it had permanently revoked Dott's membership with immediate effect. This followed an emergency board meeting board where it was unanimously agreed to removed him from the sport. The WPBSA has also written to World Snooker Tour (WST) to request his immediate removal from the WST Hall of Fame. Dott was previously suspended from all professional snooker activities on 9 April 2025 pending the outcome of his trial. He was subsequently relegated from the professional ranking list at the conclusion of the 2025/26 season.