Adam Johnson`

[PokerBroker]

6 years. 

Fair or not? 

[Karabiner]

Seems a little harsh at first glance although I'm not condoning what he did in any way.

Being stripped of his dozen England caps appears downright petty imo.

[horseplayer]

About right imo

His smirking and general disinterest during the trial shows what an immature boy he is

[StuartHopkin]

Shockingly unfair

What he did was incredibly stupid and wrong but he is not a paedophile.

Compare that sentence to all of the women who have recently been found guilty of messing around with school boys who didn't even go to prison?!

[DungBeetle]

Seems too long to me.  Someone posted on the Watford forum a crime where the guy got 4 years for having full sex with a 12 year old.  That seems far too short but how on earth does it tally with the Johnson sentence?  Seems the judges just make it up as they go along.

[Doobs]

Shockingly unfair

What he did was incredibly stupid and wrong but he is not a paedophile.

Compare that sentence to all of the women who have recently been found guilty of messing around with school boys who didn't even go to prison?!

The sentence of any women who did that and escaped prison is likely too lenient though.  

It does seem high, Johnson comes across as an immature idiot.  The fact he was looking up the age of consent afterwards, shows him to be pretty thick.   Having said treat, 16 is fairly arbitrary, it is 15 in France, 14 in Germany.  I suspect many of those who think he is a nonce would happily ogle a 16 year old on page 3, which seems to be a contradiction to me.  There was a thread on 2 plus 2 a couple of years ago concerning a young female poker player who was maybe 16 or 17.  It made for very interesting reading with a bunch of Europeans happily making lecherous comments and a bunch of US posters going WTF? as they were conditioned to an age of consent of 18.

As it is he has abused a position of trust, so he should be treated in a similar way to a teacher.  But 6 years for a minor bit of sexual activity seems a bit harsh to me.  A couple of years would probably feel lenient, so it doesn't feel massively wrong.

[BigAdz]

As a punishment compared to others it seems incredibly unfair. You read of people stabbing others and getting less, or drunk drivers killing innocent bystanders etc.

I think i saw a piece that suggested the girl was linked with another footballer prior to Johnson.

He is a total idiot for sure, but a pedo is something different in my eyes.

The fact that he appears to have taken proceedings so lightly, makes me think he does deserve a more severe punishment, but the crime of an early twenties guy and a 15 year old girl seems crazy.

For context, but also no comparison, my wife is 12 years younger than me. If we had met at one hour past her permissable birthday all those years ago, does that suddenly make it ok?

[JohnCharver]

Ofcourse hes a paedophile, why does he seek out a 15yo when he can sleep with any bird he wants. Part of the attraction is clearly her age/ it being wrong. If we were talking about the same guy as a non-footballer with more limitted options, who just took what was on offer Id be far more inclined to say he isnt a paedophile, but the facts seem to suggest the appeal was she was a besotted kid. Hes lucky the family are moneygrabbing tramps as I would have chopped the smackrats head off.

[arbboy]

Ofcourse hes a paedophile, why does he seek out a 15yo when he can sleep with any bird he wants. Part of the attraction is clearly her age/ it being wrong. If we were talking about the same guy as a non-footballer with more limitted options, who just took what was on offer Id be far more inclined to say he isnt a paedophile, but the facts seem to suggest the appeal was she was a besotted kid. Hes lucky the family are moneygrabbing tramps as I would have chopped the smackrats head off.

Pedophilia or paedophilia is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children, generally age 11 years or younger.[1][2] As a medical diagnosis, specific criteria for the disorder extend the cut-off point for prepubescence to age 13.

He is clearly not a Pedo.  One of the most mis understood terms in the world imo.

[horseplayer]

He has not been stripped of his England caps fwiw

[TightEnd]

he's not a paedophile, obviously

what the jury was not told emerged this afternoon

- he was arrested last year for having extreme pornography (bestiality) on his laptop
- he had been browsing teen sex sites. not unlawful sides, but had been browsing them
- at the time of his arrest he was on medication for STIs

[Doobs]

Ofcourse hes a paedophile, why does he seek out a 15yo when he can sleep with any bird he wants. Part of the attraction is clearly her age/ it being wrong. If we were talking about the same guy as a non-footballer with more limitted options, who just took what was on offer Id be far more inclined to say he isnt a paedophile, but the facts seem to suggest the appeal was she was a besotted kid. Hes lucky the family are moneygrabbing tramps as I would have chopped the smackrats head off.

These are the facts as stated in the case.  

The point wasnt that he was attracted to a 15 year old, it was said by the judge that he treated her just like any other girl (he made a habit of frequent sexual encounters with various girls), and not like she was 15.  The psychiatrist said he found no evidence in Johnson of an attraction to pre-pubescent children or "sexual perversion".  Though he was brought in by the defense, his evidence seems consistent with the other evidence ie he took lots of opportunities for sexual encounters and wasn't seeking out under age ones specifically.

And what evidence have you got that they were moneygrabbbing tramps?  That feels like blaming the victim, in court it was stated that the family had not sought any financial gain.

And Adz, the fella is 28 and not early 20s.

[hhyftrftdr]

Guy is a complete idiot and thick as pig shit, but 6 years doesn't sit quite right. As already mentioned, you see much more severe crimes slapped with lesser sentences.

''As it is he has abused a position of trust, so he should be treated in a similar way to a teacher''.....don't agree with that Dooobs. Why was he in a position of trust?

[Ironside]

Rix got 1 year for sex with a 15 year old, Johnson 6 years for sexaul activity with 15 year old. Something doesn't add up

[Doobs]

Guy is a complete idiot and thick as pig shit, but 6 years doesn't sit quite right. As already mentioned, you see much more severe crimes slapped with lesser sentences.

''As it is he has abused a position of trust, so he should be treated in a similar way to a teacher''.....don't agree with that Dooobs. Why was he in a position of trust?

It was what the judge said in the sentencing

Adam Johnson's crimes were the most serious of their type, the judge says.

Judge Jonathan Rose says his offences were category 1A, the most serious.

He says "there is an abuse of trust, you are trusted by young fans to behave properly".