Sunderland players shun Johnson after guilty pleas
DISGRACED former Sunderland winger Adam Johnson has been shunned by team-mates who refused to give evidence after he pleaded guilty to child-sex offences, a court has heard. The 28-year-old was sacked by the club on February 11 after admitting grooming and sexual activity with a 15-year-old schoolgirl. Johnson is standing trial on two further counts of sexual activity with a child and had hoped that Steven Fletcher would appear at Bradford Crown Court to give evidence on his behalf. However, Johnson told the jury that Sunderland striker Fletcher — who is now on loan at Marseille — was no longer willing to appear. When asked by his defence barrister, Orlando Pownall QC, what the ‘approach of other players’ had been to him since his two guilty pleas, Johnson said: ‘They have taken a step back.’ Johnson has revealed that Sunderland knew that he had groomed and ‘kissed the girl with tongues’ during a meeting in his Range Rover. The court heard that during a meeting on May 4 — at which Johnson and Mr Pownall were present — Sunderland chief executive Margaret Byrne had copies of the player’s police interviews. Johnson has had no contact with Sunderland bosses since his guilty pleas but says he had hoped Byrne would assist with some of his defence. The court also heard that Johnson made a Google search for the age of sexual consent on February 3. However, Johnson says this was because he and ‘30’ of his team-mates were having a dressing-room discussion about the TV show Ross
Kemp on Gangs in which it was claimed girls as young as 11 were allowed to marry in South Africa. Johnson denies two counts of sexual activity with a child. The trial continues.