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Live: Adam Johnson trial hears schoolgirl told police 'I gave him his thank you kiss and more'


The former England star, 28, has admitted grooming and sexual activity with a child but denies two further charges relating to a 15-year-old girl

Sunderland footballer Adam Johnson arrives at Bradford Crown Court today (Monday) for his trial
Sunderland footballer Adam Johnson arrives at Bradford Crown Court today (Monday) for his trial
The Adam Johnson child sex trial will continue at Bradford Crown Court on Monday.
Prosecutors are expected to call their first witnesses in the case against the former Premier League winger.
Johnson, 28, was sacked by Sunderland FC last week after pleading guilty to two charges of grooming and sexual activity with a child.
However he denies a further two charges of sexual activity with the same 15-year-old girl.
Kate Blackwell QC opened the case on Friday and said Johnson found himself in court as a result of his "excessive arrogance" and "sexual desire" for the schoolgirl.

Follow live updates from court as the case continues today. Girl breaks down in tears and asks for break



Adam Johnson
The girl broke down in tears and asked for a break when she was questioned over a video link by Orlando Pownall QC, defending, about why she had asked friends to lie about what happened.
The teenager could be seen sobbing on the screens in court about an hour into Mr Pownall’s cross-examination.
Judge Jonathan Rose ordered a 10-minute break in proceedings.
Before the break, Mr Pownall had pressed her on why she had asked friends to lie for her and whether she had lied to the police about her use of mobile phones after the incident.
She said: “I wanted to keep him (Johnson) out of trouble. I didn’t want to get him in more trouble than he was.”
And the teenager added: “I was scared that people wouldn’t believe me.”
She said: “I didn’t want to believe that it had happened.”
The teenager told the jury: “I tried to forget about it. I was trying to live normally.”
Just before the girl broke down, she told the barrister: “At the time I didn’t realise it was wrong. I didn’t realise what had gone on was wrong.”
An hour earlier, opening his cross-examination of the girl, Mr Pownall said to her: “It is accepted that you have been seriously wronged by Adam Johnson.”
The teenager was in tears as she agreed with the barrister that his client had pleaded guilty to “sexual activity with you and of meeting you for the purpose of sexual activity following grooming”.
Mr Pownall said: “What this jury had to decide is the extent of that sexual activity which took place on 30th January last year.”


Court resumes with 'live' evidence from schoolgirl

Proceedings have resumed at Bradford Crown Court following the lunch break.
The schoolgirl at the centre of this case is now giving evidence live to the court via videolink.
We can’t report any of this until a break in proceedings but we’ll bring you updates as soon as we can.

Johnson 'pointed out more secluded spot for next time'

The court has adjourned for lunch.
We can now report a bit more from the alleged victim’s evidence.
In a police interview, the teenager said Johnson incited sexual activity for a second time after she pulled away.
“I felt compelled to do it,” she said.
Jurors heard the girl told police that Johnson moved his Range Rover car to a more secluded car park, which he asked her to point out to him “for next time”.
This is where the alleged sexual activity took place on January 30.
A detective asked the teenager why she didn’t tell the police about the activity during her first interview with officers in February.
The 15-year-old said: “There was nothing in the texts about that so there’s nothing to say it happened other than my word.”
The detective asked: “You were worried there was no other evidence and worried you wouldn’t be believed?”
The girl replied: “It was bad enough already, I didn’t want to make it worse. I didn’t want people to get wind of it.”
The schoolgirl said Johnson messaged her to try and meet up again after their encounter on January 30.
She said: “Couple of times he said ‘are you busy later’ and I sort of made excuses.
“I didn’t necessarily want the meeting but I wanted the contact. It was weird going to the matches and thinking he was texting me.
“Throughout the full time of it it was still sort of like surreal.”
The teenager told police Johnson had tried to arrange a meeting with her after football training one day.
However, he cancelled as he had gone home and had no excuse to leave, the court heard.

'He knew how old I was and what year I am in school'



Adam Johnson
The interviewing officer asked the girl, then aged 15: “What does he [Johnson] know about you?”
She said: “He knew how old I was and what year I am in school. I think he knows what school I go to.
“He knows I go to the football matches and he knows where I sit. He knows when my birthday is because he asked and he said ‘ages away’.”
The girl told her school friends about her liaisons with the footballer she idolised and rumours soon got out at school, the court heard.
She told police: “Everyone had started to go on about it and it was chewing me up. I went downstairs and told me dad, I just broke down and told him, I am not very good at keeping stuff from my mam and dad.”
The girl told the police officer she didn’t want to report the alleged offences.
She said: “I didn’t want anything to be done about it. I wanted to leave it and drop it but my mam said what he has done is wrong.”
When asked how she felt after their encounter on January 30, the teenager told police: “I dunno, I’d say I was a bit shocked. I was a bit worried because I sort of knew I’d done something wrong.”
Live: Adam Johnson trial hears schoolgirl told police 'I gave him his thank you kiss and more' Live: Adam Johnson trial hears schoolgirl told police 'I gave him his thank you kiss and more' Reviewed by newday on 16:23 Rating: 5

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