The disgraced former Sunderland and England footballer Adam Johnson has lost his appeal against his conviction for child sex offences.
Johnson was sentenced to six years in prison earlier this year after being found guilty of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl. He was found not guilty on a separate count.
His sister Faye Johnson posted about the news on Twitter.
“Absolutely devastated that the single judge has rejected my brother’s appeal against sentence and conviction,” she said.
“But I can assure every supporter that it has made me stronger and I will never give up.”
Faye Johnson had previously set up a ‘Justice for Johnson’ campaign for her brother, which drew criticism after she encouraged social media users to change their profile photos to support the 28-year-old’s appeal.
A court heard earlier this year that Johnson had kissed and sexually touched a young fan in his Range Rover in County Durham.
He was found guilty of one count of sexual activity with the schoolgirl, but cleared of another count where it was alleged that she had performed a sex act on him. He had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of grooming and another count of kissing the girl.
Johnson was sacked by Sunderland after his guilty plea, and has also since had his 12 England international caps officially removed.
