Judge says former Premier League referee had ‘spectacular fall from grace’published at 11:15 GMT 8 January
11:15 GMT 8 January
Addressing Coote ahead of sentencing him, Judge Nirmal Shant said: “David
Coote, you have had a spectacular fall from grace.”
She told him the starting point for such an offence is one year of imprisonment, with the range between 26 weeks and three years.
Judge Shant added: “You came to the attention of police following an
investigation into your conduct while being employed as a professional referee.
“You had been filmed making comments [about] the then
Liverpool Football Club manager. The present allegations are unrelated to that but they
did lead to the police coming to your home in February last year.
“They found a laptop and a hard drive [which had] been connected to
the laptop on 2 January.
“At the time you told police they would find cocaine that
you had for your personal use – you have been cautioned for that.
“Those who commit this sort of offence must realise they involve a real child and that causes them damage.”