Adam Johnson guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child
Former England footballer Adam Johnson has been found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child but was cleared on a second count.
Former England footballer Adam Johnson has been found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child but was cleared on a second count.
Jurors at Bradford Crown Court convicted the former Sunderland FC winger by a majority of 10-2 after Judge Jonathan Rose said he would accept a majority verdict.
The 28-year-old admitted grooming a 15-year-old girl and sexual activity with the teenager, relating to kissing her in his Range Rover, but denied the two more serious charges of sexual activity with a child - one involving oral sex and another involving digital penetration.
He was cleared of the oral sex charge this afternoon.
The charges against him arose from a meeting between Johnson and the girl in his car in County Durham on January 30 last year.
Judge Rose said a custodial sentence is the almost inevitable outcome'' but granted Johnson bail until the hearing, which will be held at a later date.
There was no obvious reaction to the verdict from Johnson, who was sitting in the dock with two security guards.
He’s been portrayed in court as the epitome of the top-flight footballer stereotype - arrogant, spoilt and philandering.
Johnson's own QC told jurors they may well agree with the prosecution's portrayal of his client as immature, arrogant, promiscuous'' and thatthe only time he had to fend for himself was on the football field cheered on by thousands of adoring fans''.
Talk of his £60,000-a-week wage packet, luxury cars with personalised plates and his £1.8 million, six-bedroom mansion only added to this image.
But it was the promiscuous'' part of this characterisation which led to Johnson's downfall.
Stacey Flounders - until recently Johnson's partner and the mother-of-his one-year-old daughter, Ayla - talked about the other women'' when she gave evidence in the trial.
Miss Flounders, 26, explained to the jury how the player had confessed to cheating on her after he was arrested.
She said he would not tell her how many women there had been, but he said it was quite a few''. And she said she suspected he was unfaithful during her pregnancy.
Johnson admitted his cheating, telling the jury how his relationship was in bad state in January last year because he had been messaging other women.
Kate Blackwell QC, prosecuting, told the jury: He cheated on his girlfriend and lied and manipulated her in a way which demonstrates his exceptional duplicity.''
Miss Flounders appeared to be standing by her man, accompanying him to court for most of the trial.
But, when she took to the witness box, she told the court they were just going to remain friends'' and Johnson's barrister said the relationship wasup in the air''.