Adam Johnson verdict: Sunderland 'would have sacked footballer immediately' if they knew of guilty pleas

Convicted: Adam Johnson was today found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child
Durham Police
Laura Proto2 March 2016
WEST END FINAL

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The former club of Adam Johnson has today said the footballer would have been sacked immediately if they had known he intended to plead guilty to any of the charges he faced.

Johnson, 28, was today found guilty of one count of sexual activity of a child but initially denied all four charges against him.

He was charged with four offences – one of grooming a 15-year-old girl and three of sexual activity of a child – and on the first day of the trial, admitted grooming the teenager and kissing her in his car.

Johnson, who earned £60,000 a week, was suspended from Sunderland AFC following his arrest on March 2, 2015, and the club said they felt their action was “appropriate at that time, even though he had not then been charged with any offence”.

His suspension was lifted two weeks later after carrying out a safeguarding assessment and “liaising with relevant agencies”.

The footballer was charged with the four offences on April 23, 2015 and Sunderland AFC said it was informed Johnson would “defend all the charges”.

The club said a meeting took place on May 4 last year between Mr Johnson, his father and Orlando Pownall QC, with Sunderland AFC’s CEO present during part of the meeting.

The club said in its statement: “During the time that she was present there was no suggestion whatsoever that Mr Johnson would be changing his plea.

“Some documents were received relating to the case, which were immediately sent to Mr Pownall for his attention.

“However, the club was not in a position to make any judgment on the outcome of the case nor on Mr Johnson’s decision to defend all the allegations.

“Following that meeting, Mr Johnson again confirmed to the club, presumably on advice from his own legal team, that his intention was to defend the charges in their entirety and he was confident of success once all evidence had been considered.”

Johnson entered not guilty pleas to all four charges against him on June 6 last year.

The Sunderland AFC statement continues: “The club did not give evidence either for the prosecution or the defence in this case.

Court: Adam Johnson arriving at Bradford Crown Court on Wednesday
Owen Humphreys/PA

“It was therefore not present in court when it is understood that a suggestion was made that the club knew all along that Mr Johnson was intending to change his plea just before trial to enable him to continue to play football for the club and that the club may also have been involved in tactical discussions about the plea.

“This is utterly without foundation and is refuted in the strongest possible terms.

“The club never placed any pressure or demands on Mr Johnson to play football during this process.

“Decisions in relation to the pleas and the conduct of the trial have been left entirely to Mr Johnson and his highly experienced and skilled legal team.

“Mr Johnson has admitted in evidence that he changed his plea “on legal advice”.”

The club said it only became aware of the change of plea on two of the charges on the first day of the trial having heard it “reported through the media.”

The statement added the club was not advised in advance that Mr Johnson would plead guilty to any offence, stating “had the club known that Mr Johnson intended to plead guilty to any of these charges, then his employment would have been terminated immediately.”

The statement continued: “Indeed, upon learning of the guilty plea on February 11, 2016, the club acted quickly and decisively in terminating Adam Johnson’s contract without notice.

“This has been an extremely difficult time for all involved. The victim and her family have endured an unimaginable ordeal in the last 12 months and we trust that they will now be allowed to move on with their lives without further intrusion or public scrutiny.”

The club said it would make no further comment.

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