Ex-England footballer Adam Johnson found guilty of under-age sex

New Delhi: Former England midfielder Adam Johnson has been found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a girl aged 15 on Wednesday.

The former Sunderland player had previously admitted grooming the girl and one charge of sexual activity.

A Bradford Crown Court jury found the 28-year-old guilty of a charge of sexual touching, but not guilty on a charge relating to another sexual act.

Johnson's victim was a schoolgirl who worshipped Sunderland, especially their winger whose name and number 11 she had on the back of her replica shirt.

The trial heard that the pair exchanged 834 messages using the WhatsApp messaging service, during which she made it clear how old she was.

They subsequently met on two occasions, on January 17 and January 30, and it was on the second occasion that the sexual touching for which Johnson was convicted took place.

Johnson was sacked by Premier League employers Sunderland last month after pleading guilty to the count of grooming and the first count of sexual activity with a child on the first day of his trial.

He had been playing for Sunderland until the weekend before the trial began, having initially been suspended following his arrest.

He was granted bail and will be sentenced in two to three weeks time.

(With Agency inputs)