Adam Johnson was in court on Friday on charges of engaging in sexual activity with a child.
Earlier this week the 28-year-old admitted one count of grooming and one count of sexual activity with a child, denying two further sexual offence allegations.
Johnson, who had his contract terminated on Thursday by Sunderland, appeared in court on Friday and was accused by the prosecution of abusing “his revered position in society.”
The court in Bradford heard how Johnson invited the 15-year-old schoolgirl into his car behind a Chinese takeaway, presented her with a signed shirt and sexually touched her.
The prosecution accused Johnson of “excessive arrogance”, and the jury were told that the girl, a Sunderland season-ticket holder, who cannot be named for legal reasons, “idolised” the winger, and waited outside games to get a photo with him.
According to the prosecution, the girl had “one enormous crush on him. He was her absolute hero. She idolised him.”
The shocking details of Johnson’s exchanges with the girl, who added him on Facebook, were revealed in court, as were the alleged details of their encounter.
“You in the last year of school?” Johnson asked when the pair began exchanging texts on December 31st 2014.
The girl replied: “Year 10”, which is the equivalent of third year in Irish secondary schools.
Johnson asked her was she allowed to drink, and “Where do you go out?”
The girl said: “I am not old enough to go out haha.” To which Johnson replied: “Yeah but you look old enough. When you 16?”
“Everyone says that. November.”
Johnson then arranged to meet up with the girl to give her a signed jersey.
The court heard that on during their second meeting, on January 30th 2015, in Johnson’s Ranger Rover behind a Chinese takeaway, the pair initially spoke about football and the girl is said to have secretly recorded their conversation on Snapchat, to prove to her friends she was actually in his car.
Johnson then asked the girl for a “thank you kiss” for presenting her with the jersey. The court was then told that he put his hands down her jeans.
The court then heard that the 28-year-old, whose girlfriend Stacey Flounders was pregnant at the time, then drove to a more secluded area, facing a football pitch, and continued the sexual act.
They stopped a short time later when the girl began to feel “uncomfortable and awkward about where it may end.”
Following the encounter, Johnson is said to have sent a message to the 15-year-old saying: “Wasn’t bad was it? Lol.”
She replied: “No haha.”
Johnson: “Haha think we need to go in the back next time lol”.
“Haha yeah”, the girl replied.
The court was told that Johnson said he felt the meeting had been “worth it.” “It was class,” he said in a message to her.
“Just wanted to get ya jeans off lol … Next time defo. I will last 10 seconds though lol.”
The court heard that Johnson set up a new Snapchat account to stay in touch with the girl, asked her for a “rude” photo and police found when they searched his phone that he had searched online the “legal age of consent.”
He also viewed a number of articles on the subject.
The jury were told that “school gossip” led to the “devastated girl” telling her parents, who insisted she tell the police about the encounter.
According to the the prosecution Johnson “knew her age, he knew she looked up to him, he knew he could take advantage of her and he did.”
The trial resumes on Monday.
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