Judge says former Premier League referee had ‘spectacular fall from grace’published at 11:15 GMT
11:15 GMT
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 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.”