FOOTBALL: Adam Johnson convicted of child sex charge

Footballer Adam Johnson could face up to 10 years in jail after being found guilty of one charge of sexual activity with a child.

The former Sunderland winger, who was convicted of touching a 15-year-old girl intimately, was told by the judge a "significant custodial sentence" was highly probable.

Earlier in the day, 28-year-old Johnson was cleared of another similar charge - relating to a sex act.

Before his trial started last month, he had admitted grooming the girl and sexual activity with her, relating to kissing her in his car.

However, the ex-England footballer, who has now been released on bail, had denied the two more serious charges of sexual activity with a child.

The footballer had exchanged hundreds of social media messages with the girl which he encouraged her to delete, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Johnson met her in his Range Rover in County Durham on 30 January last year and he admitted he kissed her in the vehicle.

But the girl told a jury that the encounter went much further.

Johnson sat in the dock with his hands on his knees after the jury convicted him by a majority of 10-2.

The judge said a custodial sentence was "the almost inevitable outcome".

His preliminary view was the case came under the category of a five-year prison sentence with a range of four to 10 years, he said.

The judge added: "The defendant must understand there is a very high probability of a significant custodial sentence."

After being released, Johnson faced a throng of photographers and reporters as he left court.
Video: Disgraced Johnson Leaves Court

In a statement read by police outside court, the victim said she felt "used and let down" by thefootballer, describing the last 12 months as the "hardest year of my life".

She added: "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, I have lost all of my confidence, and my schoolwork has suffered."

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 it also "refused" any suggestion that the club may have been involved in tactical discussions about the plea.

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