David Coote spared jail after schoolboy video found on laptop

Former Premier League referee David Coote has been spared jail after he was found to have a sexual video of a 15-year-old boy in school uniform on his laptop.

Coote, 43, previously pleaded guilty to making an indecent moving image of a child of the most serious kind, and his sentencing judge said he had had a “spectacular fall from grace”.

Coote’s arms and hands trembled as a sentence of nine months, suspended for two years, was passed at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday.

He was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.

Prosecutors said the two-minute, 11-second video found on his Dell laptop showed the boy undress until he was completely naked, before performing sexual acts on himself.

The court heard the clip was found after a separate probe into comments he made about ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in 2020.

His electronic devices were seized by police in February last year, and the video of the schoolboy from January 2, 2020, was found on the hard drive of his laptop.

Sparing Coote an immediate prison sentence, judge Nirmal Shant KC told the former referee: “You have had a spectacular fall from grace.”

She told him videos such as the one Coote had downloaded “involve a real child being abused”, adding that those viewing similar material should bear in mind the “consequent damage that follows from it”.

Speaking about his state of mind, Judge Shant told him: “You were a lonely man. You had a relationship that had broken down recently.

“You had mental health difficulties and you were consuming cocaine, which of course was your choice, but it had a direct effect on your thinking.”

Coote was granted access to an area normally reserved for witnesses before leaving the court building via a private exit marked “probation liaison office”.

He did not speak when asked if he had any comment to make.

Coote’s barrister Laura Jane Miller said he was “deeply ashamed of himself”.

She told the court: “For the last six years, Mr Coote has faced intensive media scrutiny.

“He has shown remorse for this offending to the probation service.

“He said he’s deeply ashamed of himself and his actions.”

Coote was sacked by Professional Game Match Officials Limited in December 2024 after a video of comments he had made about Klopp came to light.

In August last year he was given an eight-week suspension by the Football Association over the rant about the former Liverpool manager.

In January, Coote came out as gay in an interview with The Sun and said a lifelong struggle to hide his sexuality had contributed to his Klopp comments.