Former Sunderland and Manchester City winger Adam Johnson has been sentenced to six years in prison for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old schoolgirl. The 28-year-old, who has been stripped of his 12 England caps, showed no emotion as he was jailed at Bradford Crown Court on Thursday.
Johnson admitted kissing and grooming the teenager on the first day of his trial, and was later found guilty of a more serious sexual assault. The judge, Jonathan Rose, said Johnson had abused his position of trust in a “calculated, considered and carefully orchestrated” manner, causing the victim “severe psychological harm”.
The court heard that Johnson had groomed the besotted fan in a “single-minded pursuit of his own sexual gratification”. The assault took place in his black Range Rover behind a Chinese takeaway in County Durham on 30 January 2015. Johnson will remain on the sex offender register for life and must pay £50,000 towards prosecution costs.
In a victim impact statement read to court, the girl said she had “entered many dark places” since reporting the assaults. She described being bullied at school and feeling “very intimidated” by Johnson’s public protests of innocence. Her mother said the family had endured “heartache, criticism and slanderous remarks”.
It was also revealed that Johnson was arrested for possessing extreme pornography – believed to be a bestiality video – on his laptop, but police said he will face no further action over the video, which was described as “jokey” in nature. A psychologist diagnosed Johnson with a “hypersexual disorder”.
