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 former world champion was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, after a jury previously found him guilty of two counts of lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour involving a girl and a boy.
The offences involved incidents spanning several years. According to evidence heard in court, the girl was abused between 1993 and 1996, while the boy was abused between 2006 and 2010. Dott denied the charges but was convicted by the jury in August.
Here are seven key facts about the case.
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1. Graeme Dott was sentenced to seven years
Judge Lord Harrower imposed a backdated seven-year prison sentence when Dott appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh.
The judge told Dott that his actions had robbed the victims of “a significant part of their childhood” and described the conduct as a “gross violation of trust.”
The court also heard the judge describe Dott’s behaviour as bearing the hallmarks of grooming.
2. The case involved two victims
The convictions relate to a girl and a boy who were both primary school-age children when the offences occurred.
The girl, who is now a woman in her 40s, told the court that she had been subjected to multiple incidents of sexual abuse during her childhood.
The second victim, now a man in his late 20s, also described repeated abuse during the period covered by the charges. Their identities were protected in court through the use of pseudonyms.
3. The offences occurred over different periods
The court heard that the offences involving the girl took place between 1993 and 1996.
The offences involving the boy occurred more than a decade later, between 2006 and 2010.
Lord Harrower noted that Dott was himself around 16 or 17 when the offending against the girl began, while the later offences occurred when he was an adult.
4. Dott denied the charges
Dott has continued to maintain his innocence despite the conviction.
During the five-day trial, the jury heard evidence from the two victims before reaching its verdict in August. Dott was convicted of two counts of lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour.
Following sentencing, Dott was remanded in custody.
5. He has been placed on the sex offenders’ register
The court ordered that Graeme Dott’s name be placed on the sex offenders’ register.
Reporting from the sentencing hearing said the registration is indefinite.
Graeme Dott conviction has also had consequences for his standing in snooker, with World Snooker’s Hall of Fame removing his name following the conviction.
6. Dott was a former world snooker champion
Before the criminal case, Dott was best known for his achievements on the snooker table.
He became a professional in 1994 and reached the World Snooker Championship final three times.
Graeme Dott lost the 2004 final to Ronnie O’Sullivan before returning to the Crucible two years later and defeating Peter Ebdon to win the world title in 2006.
Dott reached the final again in 2010 but was beaten by Australia’s Neil Robertson.
7. His professional legacy has now been affected
Graeme Dott’s seven-year sentence marks a dramatic change in the public record surrounding a player who once held one of snooker’s biggest titles.
His lawyer told the sentencing hearing that Dott’s personal and professional reputations had been severely damaged following the conviction. The court also heard mitigation relating to his personal circumstances.
For the victims, however, the judge focused on the impact of the offences during their childhoods, describing the behaviour as a serious violation of trust.
The sentencing brings the latest stage of a case that has now fundamentally changed the legacy of one of Scotland’s former world snooker champions.
The Guardian – Graeme Dott jailed for child sexual abuse
ITV News – Graeme Dott jailed for seven years
