Former world snooker champion Graeme Dott has been jailed for seven years after being convicted of sexually abusing two children.
The 49-year-old was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday after a jury found him guilty of two counts of lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour towards a girl and a boy.
The offences took place during two separate periods, between 1993 and 1996 and 2006 and 2010, when both victims were of primary school age.
Dott, who won the World Snooker Championship at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre in 2006, had denied the allegations.
Victims repeatedly sexually abused
A five-day trial at the High Court in Glasgow heard that Dott exposed himself in front of both children, touched them inappropriately and kissed them.
One of the victims, a woman now in her 40s, told the court that Dott sexually abused her on multiple occasions when she was a child.
The second victim, a man now in his late 20s, also described being repeatedly sexually abused by Dott during his childhood.
Dott denied the allegations but was convicted by a jury in August.
The judge described it as a ‘gross violation of trust’
Sentencing Dott, Lord Harrower said his offending had deprived the victims of a significant part of their childhood.
The judge described Dott’s behaviour as involving a “gross violation of trust” and said his conduct towards the children bore the hallmarks of grooming.
Dott was sentenced to seven years in prison.
He has also been placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.
Snooker membership permanently revoked
Dott’s conviction has also brought his professional snooker career and official recognition within the sport to an end.
Following his conviction, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association permanently revoked his membership.
His name was also removed from World Snooker’s Hall of Fame.
Dott reached the pinnacle of the sport in 2006 when he became world champion at the Crucible in Sheffield.
He will now begin his seven-year prison sentence following his convictions for the historic sexual abuse of the two children.
