Adam Johnson has pleaded not guilty to four child sex offences in front of Durham Crown Court this morning.
The Sunderland winger and former England international arrived at the court without his girlfriend Stacey Flounders, who appeared alongside him during his last court appearance, with a short hearing leading to the winger denying the allegations made against him.
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The 27-year-old will now appear back in court on August 3rd, with his trial set for August 24th. The charges made against him include three counts of sexual activity with a girl under 16 and one count of grooming.
It was expected that Johnson would plead not guilty ahead of the trial, after his solicitor Paul Morris confirmed as much during his last court appearance on May 18th.
Johnson’s girlfriend Stacey Flounders did not attend his court hearing.
The absence of Flounders from the court appearance could be telling, as she has been pictured side-by-side with the footballer since he was formally accused of the charges. Unfortunately, Flounders has also found herself being dragged into the ordeal, as back in March an image of her was circulated online that claimed to be of the 15-year-old that Johnson allegedly had sexual relations with. The circulation of this image, which we covered here, saw many stating that they would have also sleep with a 15-year-old if they looked as good as the image of Flounders, with one heinous numbskull writing: “If ur in an over 18’s club & she’s begging for the D she’s getting smashed! #Simple”.
Accusations against the 15-year-old, who was also named on Twitter by users who sought to shame her, include that she met Johnson in an over 18’s club, something which has never even been mentioned by police. While there are many continue to (rightly) reiterate that Johnson is innocent until proven guilty, given the level of harassment the alleged victim has received since the allegations were made public, it seems that many believe the same level of respect shouldn’t be granted to her.
Photo: Getty Images
