Former Premier League referee David Coote has been given a suspended nine-month prison sentence after admitting to the creation of an indecent image of a child. A category A child abuse video was found on his laptop.
The 43-year-old who resides in Woodhill, Collingham, Nottinghamshire, was at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday, where his fate was decided. The sentence was suspended for two years, with Coote additionally served with a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years and was directed to complete 150 hours of community service.
The court listened to the two-minute and eleven-second video with a 15-year-old boy in a school uniform that was downloaded and watched on Coote’s Dell laptop on 2 January 2020. The clip was uncovered during a separate Football Association investigation, following the seizure and examination of several devices from his home by the police in February last year.
Coote changed his plea to guilty in October after initially denying the charge. Judge Nirmal Shant KC highlighted the gravity of the offence by pointing out that it was a “real child” and that the child suffered harm that could last a long time.
According to defence lawyer Laura Miller, Coote was going through some personal issues at the time and is currently trying to start a new life after what the judge termed as a “spectacular fall from grace.”
Coote was sacked in 2024 by the FA and has since been handed several bans by the football authorities.
