Footballer Adam Johnson facing jail after being found guilty of sexual activity with a child

Adam Johnson has been found guilty of sexually touching a 15-year-old girl. The judge in his case granted him bail until he is sentenced in two weeks time, telling the footballer: ‘Say goodbye to your daughter.’
The 28-year-old has been cleared of a second charge relating to the schoolgirl’s claims she performed oral sex on him.

Johnson’s ex-girlfriend Stacey Flounders, who backed him during the trial, showed no emotion as the verdicts were returned after the jury spent more than nine hours deliberating.
Judge Jonathan Rose said a prison sentence is ‘almost inevitable’ and set a maximum sentence for the charges at 10 years.

The England winger had already admitted grooming the girl and kissing her as they sat in the front seats of his black Range Rover Sport on January 30 last year. He denied the ‘passionate kiss’ led to anything further.

In a emotional statement released after the verdicts, Johnson’s young victim said the build-up to the trial has been ‘the hardest year of my life’.
She said: ‘I’ve had to face so much abuse after he claimed his innocence. I was made out to be a liar, if anything, I held things back because I didn’t want all of this to come out.
‘What happened in his car has turned my life upside down. I have lost all of my confidence. My school work has suffered.
‘There are people out there who have made assumptions about me and that alone has been hard to deal with. I have been unable to defend myself publicly.
‘The gossip on social media and hearing all of the horrible names that people have been calling me has been devastating to me, my friends and my family… I’ve been in some very dark places.’
After the jury gave their verdicts this afternoon, Judge Rose said his preliminary view was that the case falls into the category of a prison sentence between four and 10 years.
The judge said: ‘The defendant must understand there is a very high probability of a significant custodial sentence.’
Just before Johnson left the dock, Judge Rose told Johnson that he was being released on bail so he could get his ‘affairs in order’.
Johnson was bailed until he is sentenced in two to three weeks time. The judge ordered he be under a curfew from 7pm until 7am. Explaining his bail conditions, the judge said Johnson would be ‘well advised to stay well away from social media’.