Six years in prison for Adam Johnson

England international Adam Johnson has been sentenced to six years in prison by the court of Bradford, after being convicted of sexual abuse of a minor 15 years . The 28 - year - old sacked by Sunderland on February 11 after learning the facts, communicated through his lawyer to appeal the ruling.

Johnson met the teenager through social networks and a first meeting was limited to sign him a few shirts, but in a second date had sex, something that the player always denied. The former player of Sunderland only acknowledged he had kissed the girl , whose age knew in his car after having interacted with it on social networks and have led to the meeting.

The court had initially accepted the charge of sexual relationship before changing his position on Thursday, convinced that there had been a complete relationship.

"Adam Johnson has exploited a young amateur, requesting for months with the simple goal of his sexual pleasure", said the lawyer Garry Wareham. "She Never thought in the interest of the girl, or welfare during this time or even after constantly denying any reprehensible act for nearly 11 months until this trial"

"We must be aware that in this case there is only one victim, the young 15 year old girl sexually assaulted. This has had a disastrous effect on the victim and I sincerely hope that we will give her and her family respect and intimacy it deserve so that they can recover and rebuild their lives , "he added.

On probation after being arrested in early March, Johnson was allowed to play with Sunderland, but his guilty plea and breach of contract with Adidas ended up costing work.

Johnson arrived at Sunderland in 2012 for 10 million pounds from Manchester City, he had been capped 12 times, scoring two goals . The case also affected the club in northern England, as its general director, Margaret Byrne, resigned on March 8 after strong criticism.