Snooker's 2006 world champion Dott convicted of child sexual abuse

Graeme Dott, age 49, was found guilty on 24 August of two counts of lewd and libidinous behaviour, a legal category covering sexual crimes against children committed before 1 December 2010. The charges relate to abuse of a girl and a boy over a span from 1993 to 2010, according to BBC Sport's reporting of the verdict.

Dott won the World Snooker Championship in 2006, his sole world title, after defeating Peter Ebdon at The Crucible in Sheffield. The conviction ends a competitive career that had already been suspended since April 2025, pending trial.

The trial was held at Glasgow High Court over five days. According to trial testimony reported by BBC Sport, Dott sexually abused the girl, now in her 40s, beginning in the 1990s. The abuse included exposing himself, touching her inappropriately, lifting her top and kissing her stomach after proposing a "guessing game", and carrying out a sexual act that would, under current law, amount to rape. The girl testified the actions left her "shocked and scared". During the abuse, Dott gave her a teddy bear with a love heart on it.

The boy, now in his 20s, said he was approximately eight years old when Dott molested him in a shower at a home in South Lanarkshire. According to his testimony in the trial, Dott abused the boy in a car on multiple occasions and inappropriately touched him while playing online poker. The abusive relationship began not long after Dott won the 2006 world title. Dott gave the boy crisps, fizzy drinks, and once a 50 pound note, but later accused him of theft when the boy's parents discovered the money.

Dott denied all charges during trial. According to BBC Sport's reporting, he stated the allegations were false and that he had "never acted inappropriately with anyone".

Police had contact with Dott regarding these allegations in 2001, but no charges were brought at that time. The woman provided a new statement to police in 2025, leading to the prosecution that concluded this week. Lord Harrower, the presiding judge, scheduled sentencing for 29 September in Edinburgh and accepted a victim impact statement from the woman for consideration before sentencing.

The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association announced an emergency board meeting where membership revocation was unanimously agreed, with immediate effect. The WPBSA also wrote to the World Snooker Tour requesting Dott's removal from the WST Hall of Fame. He had been suspended from all professional snooker activities since April 2025 and relegated from the professional ranking list at the end of the 2025/26 season. Detective Inspector Gary Smillie of Police Scotland described Dott as a "dangerous individual".