CAMPAIGNERS have hit out at jailed footballer Adam Johnson after he was caught on camera joking about his vile crimes with fellow inmates.
The disgraced footballer , 29, was secretly filmed by a fellow prisoner discussing his sexual offences conviction in the laundry room at Category C HMP Moorland in South Yorkshire.
During one particularly shocking moment another inmate points out that the former Sunderland winger did not rape his victim – only for Johnson to reply: ‘I wish I f****** did for six years.’
An NSPCC spokesman said today: ‘What part of ‘age of consent’ does Johnson not get? To make it crystal clear to him: adults can’t have sex with children.
‘His lack of remorse for sexual activity with a child is appalling and shows utter contempt for his victim.’
It is believed that the former professional footballer was aiming to move to a lower security open prison, but the leaked video may have destroyed his chances, sources told The Sun.
Father-of-one Johnson was sentenced to six years in prison in 2016 for grooming and then engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old fan.
The six-minute video could now also harm his hopes of an early release. Mobile phones are not allowing in British jails and prison authorities today confirmed they are investigating.
In the clip Johnson moans about his harsh treatment and blames his long sentence and charges on the fact that he is a celebrity, reports The Sun .
Johnson was sentenced to six years in prison in 2016 for grooming and then engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old fan
Johnson was sentenced to six years in prison in 2016 for grooming and then engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old fan
He adds that he ‘never even got his c*** out’ and makes rude comments about the girl’s breasts.
He tells his fellow prisoners that if he was ‘Joe Public’ he ‘would have got a caution at the police station. They might not even have charged.’
Johnson then claims that his victim’s father would not even have gone to the police if he had not been a professional footballer.
In the video Johnson also claims that there are people in prison with him that have ‘s****** 12-year-olds’ and got less than ‘half the time’ that he was sentenced to.
He tells the group that his playing days in England are over because of ‘do-gooders’ who won’t give him a ‘second chance’.
Sarah Green, Co-Director of End Violence Against Women Coalition said: ‘Adam Johnson should stop making excuses to others and to himself about what he did.
‘It is very common for perpetrators of sexual violence to be in denial about what they have done. It is part of what makes rehabilitative work difficult.
‘It is also why it is important for professionals and for all of us to challenge claims about whose fault it is.’
A spokesman for charity Enough Abuse added: ‘The arrogance of Johnson is disgraceful, but typical of someone who abuses – they see it as they’re right and the law is wrong.
‘Clearly his time in jail is proving to be ineffective. There is nothing funny about the impact his crime will have had on his victim.
‘As with all those successful in sport, they should be ambassadors for excellence. He was in a position where his conduct will have been admired by young lads and what impression has he given them about respect?’
In July last year Johnson, who has a young child, was refused permission to appeal against his conviction and sentence for child sex offences.
He had sought to appeal but a spokesman for the Judicial Office said that had been rejected by the Court of Appeal.
They said his ‘applications for permission to appeal against sentence and conviction were refused’.
Johnson’s trial at Bradford Crown Court heard that he had kissed and sexually touched the 15-year-old fan in his Range Rover, in a secluded spot in County Durham.
He was also arrested for possessing extreme pornography, and pre-trial hearings heard that police found medicines in a safe when he was arrested which indicated he may have been suffering from a sexually transmitted infections.
Judge Jonathan Rose said that, as a result, he was satisfied the girl had suffered ‘severe psychological harm’ and that Johnson had taken advantage of ‘a young teenager’s adoration of a successful celebrity’.
SOURCE: DAILYMAIL
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