"He was handed a sentence of nine months in prison suspended for two years at a hearing at Nottingham Crown Court, as a judge told him he had suffered a spectacular fall from grace. Forensic analysis of Coote's computer showed a two-minute and 11-second-long video had been viewed that showed a 15-year-old boy in a school uniform undressing until he was completely naked, before performing sexual acts on himself, prosecutors said on Thursday."
"Crown counsel Jeremy Janes told the court the offence was aggravated because it involved a moving image over two minutes. Defending, Laura Jane Miller said the ex-referee is deeply ashamed of himself and his actions. The disgraced referee first came to the police's attention following a Football Association (FA) investigation into him over comments he made about former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp."
David Coote, a former Premier League referee, avoided immediate imprisonment and received a nine-month prison sentence suspended for two years. Forensic analysis found a two-minute and 11-second video on his computer showing a 15-year-old boy in a school uniform undressing and performing sexual acts. Coote pleaded guilty to making an indecent image of a child. The offence was treated as aggravated because it involved a moving image over two minutes. He was arrested in February 2025 after an FA investigation and had multiple devices seized. The judge described a spectacular fall from grace and Coote appeared shaken at sentencing.
Read at www.independent.co.uk
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