Ex-England football player Adam Johnson will be facing substantial jail sentence after he was found guilty of sexual activity with a 15 year old girl fan of him. Bradford Crown Court jury cleared the former footballer from one of the charges, however, convicted him of the other.
According to BBC News, Adam Johnson, 28 years old, convicted to less serious charge of sexual activity was guilty of the charges after he admitted grooming the minor. However, Johnson was not guilty on the serious sexual act charges. The judge, Jonathan Rose told the former Sunderland player to "say goodbye to your daughter."
The unnamed girl, 15 years old stated, she was going through the "hardest year" of her life. She also said, she felt surreal, meeting her hero. However, now she feels she was "used and was let down" by him. "I have had to face so much abuse after he claimed his innocence and I was made out to be a liar. What happened in his car has turned my life upside down," she said.
Johnson also admitted kissing the minor during his initial trial, however, he denied two serious sexual activity allegations against him, Reuters reported. Detective Inspector Aelfwynn Sampson said, the former football idol failed to become a "role model" in their football-obsessed region. He told the reporters that Johnson was aware of the victim's age and still continued to contact and meet with her.
The Sunderland association football Club terminated Johnson after he pleaded guilty. The club also received backlash for not resolving the case earlier. Sunderland issued a statement, saying "Had the club known that Mr Johnson intended to plead guilty to any of these charges, then his employment would have been terminated immediately," Daily Mail quoted.
Upon learning of the guilty plea on 11 February 2016, the club acted quickly and decisively in terminating Adam Johnson's contract without notice. Johnson, showed no emotion as the verdicts were delivered and he has been granted bail until his sentencing, which is due to take place in two to three weeks. He was also given a curfew of 7am to 7pm.
