Adam Johnson guilty of sexual activity with a child
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Version 0 of 1. The footballer Adam Johnson is facing the prospect of five years in jail after being found guilty of sexual activity with a 15-year-old schoolgirl. The former England footballer was cleared of another count in which she was alleged to have performed a sex act on him. The judge Jonathan Rose told Johnson a substantial custodial sentence was “an almost inevitable outcome” when he is sentenced later this month at Bradford crown court. In a powerful statement issued after the verdicts, the victim – a lifelong Sunderland fan – said she felt “used and let down” by her former idol. “The last 12 months have been horrendous and there have been times when I’ve wanted to hide away from the world. There have been times I haven’t felt able to face people,” she said. “There have been times when I’ve tried not to show people how upset I am, but sometimes it hasn’t been possible and I’d just cry. I’ve felt so broken. “I’ve been in some very dark places over that time and I thought the trial and giving evidence, having my say, would give me closure. But it didn’t. It put me back into the same dark places and I felt worse than I’ve ever felt before. This was because I still didn’t feel believed.” Judge Rose told Johnson as he was granting him bail that he should use the opportunity to “say goodbye to your daughter” because “you will not see her for some time”. Johnson’s daughter was seven weeks old when he was arrested exactly a year ago. The judge said his preliminary view was that the case fell into the category of a five-year prison sentence with a range of four to 10 years. The judge said: “You must understand when you return here at the end of March that it will be to receive a substantial prison sentence. Do you understand that?” Johnson nodded in the glass dock, flanked by two officers. The judge told Johnson he must observe a 7pm to 7am curfew and also said to him that “you would be well advised to stay well away from social media”. Johnson left the court dock without answering a journalist who asked whether he would apologise to the victim. A minder carried a black hold-all bag packed in case Johnson was jailed immediately. In chaotic scenes as he left court, Johnson’s father, Dave, lost his spectacles in a scuffle in which he appeared to grab a BBC television reporter by the arm while being buffeted towards a waiting vehicle. The jury of eight women and four men deliberated for nine hours and 42 minutes after which they found Johnson guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child. They returned with a majority of 10-2 after failing to reach a unanimous verdict. The jurors convicted the 28-year-old just half an hour after acquitting him on another count of sexual activity with a child. The footballer showed little reaction from the dock as the verdict was delivered. His sister sat with her head bowed in the public gallery. Adam Johnson pictured in police mugshot after his arrest a year ago today pic.twitter.com/atp0VPXf1a Johnson had denied all four of the allegations until the first day of his trial, when he pleaded guilty to one count of grooming and one count of kissing the schoolgirl. He continued to deny that he did anything further than kiss the teenager and disputed her two allegations of sexual assault. The victim, now 16, was a Sunderland season ticket holder who “idolised” Johnson and regularly waited outside the club’s Stadium of Light for a picture with her hero, the court heard. They began swapping messages on New Year’s Eve and 18 days later Johnson met the girl to give her a signed Sunderland shirt. Giving evidence, the £60,000-a-week footballer told his trial that Sunderland AFC knew he had admitted kissing and sending explicit messages to the girl as long ago as May 2015. The club is facing troubling questions about why it allowed Johnson to return from suspension just 16 days after his arrest. The trial heard that Margaret Byrne, the club’s chief executive, had copies of police interviews with Johnson and the victim, as well as copies of the 834 text messages they swapped, by 4 May. Johnson’s final game for Sunderland was on 6 February, when he scored in a 2-2 draw away to Liverpool, the weekend before his trial. His contract was torn up 24 hours after he pleaded guilty on 10 February. In a statement issued after the case, Sunderland FC said it refuted any suggestion the club knew all along that Johnson was intending to change his plea just before his trial so he could continue to play for them, and that the club may have been involved in discussions about the plea. The club said it was not advised in advance that Johnson would plead guilty to any offence. “Had the club known that Mr Johnson intended to plead guilty to any of these charges, then his employment would have been terminated immediately,” the statement said. “Indeed, upon learning of the guilty plea on 11 February 2016, the club acted quickly and decisively in terminating Adam Johnson’s contract without notice. The club did not give evidence either for the prosecution or the defence in this case. “It was therefore not present in court when it is understood that a suggestion was made that the club knew all along that Mr Johnson was intending to change his plea just before trial to enable him to continue to play football for the club and that the club may also have been involved in tactical discussions about the plea. “This is utterly without foundation and is refuted in the strongest possible terms. The club never placed any pressure or demands on Mr Johnson to play football during this process.” Orlando Pownall QC, for Johnson, told the court that there would be an appeal against the guilty verdict. Detective Inspector Aelfwynn Sampson, of Durham constabulary, said Johnson was idolised by thousands as he lived out his childhood dream of playing football for his hometown club. She added on the steps of the court: “However, Johnson exploited his position as a local hero to take advantage of a young and impressionable girl.” Sampson added that Johnson knew from the start that the girl was underage and “no doubt thought he would get away with it”. “We would like to thank the victim for coming forward and her family for supporting her through this incredibly difficult time over the 12 months it has taken to reach this conclusion.” |