Former England footballer Adam Johnson has been sentenced to six years in jail for sexual activity with a child.
Johnson was accused and convicted of carrying out a sex act with the 15-year-old schoolgirl in January of last year.
The former Sunderland footballer had pleaded guilty to grooming a 15-year-old girl and one charge of sexual activity with her, but denied two further charges of sexual activity with a child.
The charges relate to an incident in Johnson’s Range Rover on January 30, last year, after he met up with the girl in County Durham.
The 28-year-old admitted to kissing the teenager, but told the court that the encounter went no further.
According to The Guardian, prosecutor Kate Blackwell had told the court Johnson should be jailed for up to 10 years for carrying out a “calculated, considered and carefully-orchestrated” crime.
The former England footballer’s offense had left his teenage victim with “severe psychological harm” and suicidal thoughts, she said.
In an emotional victim impact statement read by Blackwell, the girl said: “I have entered many dark places over these 12 months.
“I just wanted to shut the world out and pretend I didn’t exist and that this wasn’t real.”
