Prosecutors have told a jury that former snooker world champion Graeme Dott “subjected vulnerable children to the worst kind of abuse”. The 49-year-old denies two charges of lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour involving two primary school-age children in the Glasgow area.
One allegation relates to a girl between 1993 and 1996, while the second concerns a boy between 2006 and 2010. Addressing jurors at the High Court in Glasgow on Friday, advocate depute Lindsey Dalziel urged them to convict Dott on both charges.
Prosecution's case
Ms Dalziel said the evidence had at times been difficult to hear because the jury had been given “very real, very graphic details of childhood sexual abuse”. She added: “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.”
The prosecutor argued there were significant similarities between the accounts given by the two alleged victims, despite them coming forward at different times. She told jurors they may consider it “inherently compelling” that both had separately described alleged abuse by Dott, and said there had been sufficient opportunity for the alleged offences to take place.
Witness evidence
Ms Dalziel highlighted the detail provided by the first alleged victim, who told the court the alleged abuse began when Dott “caressed” her bottom over her clothing while giving her a piggyback. She said: “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.”
The prosecutor said differences between accounts the woman gave to people when she first reported the alleged abuse were “natural”, arguing that this “shows the evidence is not rehearsed”. Ms Dalziel also praised what she described as the “crystal clear” evidence of the second alleged victim, who told the court on Thursday that Dott had touched him inappropriately on a number of separate occasions.
Defence challenge
Dott’s lawyer Euan Dow challenged both accounts in his closing speech and urged jurors to acquit his client. “You would need to hold the complainers as credible and reliable, that you could depend upon them,” he said. “In my submission to you, you should not accept either as credible or reliable.”
Mr Dow pointed to what he described as “differences” in accounts given by the first alleged victim to people she confided in in the years after the alleged abuse. He also said she had not mentioned some of the more “serious” allegations to people she spoke to at the time, despite one person asking directly whether Dott had “touched her anywhere else”.
Mr Dow described the evidence of the second alleged victim as “unsupported” by any other evidence and argued parts of his account were at odds with testimony given by other witnesses. He said: “The Crown invite you to accept the frequently shifting evidence of (the first complainer) and the unsupported evidence of (the second complainer) as compelling, and convict Graeme Dott of these serious charges on that evidence. Do you consider these sources of evidence to be dependable?”
The trial, before Lord Harrower, continues, with the jury expected to retire to consider its verdict on Monday.
