Adam Johnson tells court he knew kissing schoolgirl was an offence

Former Sunderland footballer Adam Johnson has begun giving evidence at his trial at Bradford Crown Court, where he is accused of sexual activity with a child.

Johnson has admitted kissing the teenager at the centre of the case and an offence of grooming, but has denied two other counts of sexual activity with a child. When questioned by his barrister, Orlando Pownall QC, Johnson acknowledged that he kissed the girl, although he denied he had digitally interfered with her or indulged in oral sex with her. Johnson admitted to the jury that he knew that kissing the girl was an offence, but said that he did not realise that communicating with her with the intention of kissing her before their meeting was also an offence. The court heard that Johnson had accepted a friend request from the girl on Facebook and later exchanged phone numbers with her after she had asked for signed shirts. When asked at this point if he had been contemplating any kind of sexual encounter at this stage, Johnson indicated that he was not. When he was later asked why he had told the girl not to tell anyone that she was messaging him, Johnson said: "Loads of reasons. I had a girlfriend, I knew what could be made of speaking to a girl that age, I didn't want her to tell her friends and them to come and ask me for shirts as well." The court has also heard that Johnson made a prepared statement to police, accepting the "unacceptable" nature of his actions. Junior prosecutor in the case, Daniel Thomas, said Johnson had admitted he kissed the girl "fully on the lips" during the meeting in his Range Rover, but denied more serious allegations. Describing the "platonic" nature of their meetings, Johnson claimed she regularly approached him to request signed shirts. He added that Johnson described his actions as "wholly unacceptable" and explained the footballer had withdrawn from any further contact with the girl due to her age and his own circumstances. 'She's a child and ought to have been safe in my company,' Johnson said in the statement. Johnson also said he was ashamed of some of the messages which had been exchanged between himself and the girl, and the BBC reports that he said boredom was to blame for their "flirty" nature. Johnson said he was attracted to the girl and that he had told her to delete their messages "to be safe". The trial continues.