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Adam Johnson guilty of child sex charge

Former England footballer Adam Johnson was found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child but was cleared on a second count.

Jurors at Bradford Crown Court convicted the former Sunderland AFC winger by a majority of 10-2 after Judge Jonathan Rose said he would accept a majority verdict.

The 28-year-old admitted grooming a 15-year-old girl and sexual activity with the teenager, relating to kissing her in his Range Rover, but denied the two more serious charges of sexual activity with a child.

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NSPCC: Premier League or Sunday League - child safety must be top priority

A children's charity has called on everyone to make child safety a priority "whether you're Premier League or Sunday League" following the sentencing of former England footballer Adam Johnson.

The NSPCC, which described Johnson's behaviour as "horrifying" and "inexcusable", has sent a letter to the Football Association expressing concerns about a potential "cultural problem" within the sport.

In the letter, the charity said it was concerned about the approach taken by Sunderland Football Club when confronted with a serious child protection issue.

"We are worried this could be a cultural problem within football as a whole and find it concerning clubs may not see incidents such as these as a child protection issue.

This is not only about one rogue player that behaved badly, but a club that seemingly did not have child protection priorities embedded into their culture. It was not equipped to handle these allegations and seemingly did not deal with them appropriately, or indeed seriously."

– NSPCC letter
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Adam Johnson guilty of child sex charge

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