Adam Johnson loses appeal against child sex offence

The footballer Adam Johnson has lost an appeal against his conviction for child sex offences, according to his sister.

Faye Johnson posted a message on Twitter, saying: “Absolutely devastated that the single judge has rejected my brother’s appeal against sentence and conviction.

“But I can assure every supporter that it has made me stronger and I will never give up.”

The former Sunderland and England player, 28, was jailed for six years for engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old fan.

Johnson’s trial at Bradford crown court heard that he had kissed and sexually touched the girl in his Range Rover, in a secluded spot in County Durham.

The jury found him guilty of one count of sexual activity with a schoolgirl, and cleared him of another count in which she was alleged to have performed a sex act on him. On the first day of his trial Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of grooming and one count of kissing the girl.