Disgraced referee David Coote avoids jail after making sexual video of boy, 15
Prosecutors said the two minute, 11 second-video showed the boy undress until he was completely naked before performing sexual acts on himself.
Former Premier League referee David Coote has avoided jail after a sexual video of a 15-year-old schoolboy was found on his laptop.
Listen to this article
Coote, 43, was sentenced to nine months in prison suspended for two years during a hearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday - having previously pleaded guilty.
The court heard Coote’s 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 Dell laptop.
Prosecutors said the two minute, 11 second-video showed the boy undress until he was completely naked before performing sexual acts on himself.
Read more: Sacked Premier League referee David Coote admits making indecent image of a child
Read more: Ex-Premier League referee David Coote pleads not guilty to making indecent images of a child
Coote, of Woodhill Road in Collingham, near Newark, Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty in October to making a category A indecent moving image of a child, the most serious kind.
The court heard the former referee answered no comment to relevant questions in police interview in February last year, and was cautioned after officers found cocaine in his house in the same month.
Prosecutor Jeremy Janes said the offence of making a category A image can lead to a maximum sentence of three years in prison.
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.