Former world snooker champion Graeme Dott subjected young children to the worst kind of abuse, a prosecutor has told the High Court in Glasgow. Dott, 49, denies two charges of lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour towards two primary school age children.
Allegations spanning years
The allegations against Dott span from 1993 to 1996 involving a girl, and from 2006 to 2010 involving a boy, both in the Glasgow region. The former champion has denied both charges.
Advocate depute Lindsey Dalziel called on the jury to find Dott guilty of both charges during her closing speech on Friday. “The evidence in this case has not been easy to listen to at times,” she said.
“I suggest the reason for that is you have heard very real, very graphic details of childhood sexual abuse. The Crown’s case is that Graeme Dott subjected vulnerable children to the worst kind of abuse with a course of conduct which relied on opportunity, for his own gratification.”
Prosecutor highlights similarities
Dalziel told the jury they might find it “inherently compelling” that two different alleged victims had come forward at different times, giving reports of abuse that contained “so many similarities”. “It’s not, unfortunately, coincidence,” she said. “It’s a demonstration of guilt.”
She also said Dott would have had sufficient opportunity to carry out the alleged abuse as described by the witnesses. “We are talking about occasions of abuse that could have been spaced over two or more years, months apart,” she said. “Upwards of seven incidents. So, it would not have taken much opportunity for him to abuse either of them in this scenario.” She added: “The opportunity has not been excluded on the basis of the evidence.”
Victim evidence praised
Dalziel praised the “level of detail” given by the first alleged victim, who described the abuse beginning with Dott “caressing” her bottom over her clothing while giving her a piggy back. The prosecutor said the witness reported a “progression” from there to other incidents, including kissing and a “guessing game” in which Dott is alleged to have exposed himself and touched her with different parts of his body.
“She did not just give details of that happened,” Dalziel said of the witness. “She gave details about what she felt, what the sensations were, what the smells were. I suggest she was a straightforward and credible witness, doing her best to tell the truth.”
Dalziel also said it was “natural” there were differences in the accounts she had given to different people when she first reported the alleged abuse, adding it “shows the evidence is not rehearsed”.
The lawyer also praised the “crystal clear” evidence given by Dott’s second alleged victim, who told the court on Thursday the abuse had started while he was having a shower. Dalziel said the witness had alleged multiple incidents in the shower, where Dott is alleged to have touched the boy inappropriately while washing him, for his own sexual gratification.
The witness said, on other occasions, Dott had kissed him, and that he could remember the smell of the soap he used. “Did he seem to be reaching for facts, or did that come quite easily to him?” the advocate asked the jury. “I would suggest (he) was a compelling witness. He was relaxed, conversational, keen to give detail and description.”
She added: “What good reason do you really have to doubt the evidence of the two people that you have heard from. I suggest to you that you have really been given no reason to doubt what they have said.”
Dott’s lawyer, Euan Dow, is due to give his closing speech to the jury on Friday afternoon. The trial, before judge Lord Harrower, continues.
