OP is re-examining Stacey now. But she also told KB that she felt uncomfortable driving the Range Rover car knowing that Johnson and the girl had kissed inside it. It is also alleged that the other offences took place in it. Read more: http://www.sunderlandecho.com/live/event#ixzz41B9R1c6n
If I was certain someone had used there status to get at one of my girls I can assure you he would be talking in a very high voice for the rest of his life. As well as a prison sentence to help him remember...........
Just the one defence witness left once it resumes at 2. Then we'll have the summing up by the judge n closing statements etc.
From what I've read there's actually no evidence to prove that AJ committed any further sexual acts with the girl, I'm sure he's lied about details but there's no way to be sure what happened between them - I can see him being found not guilty and avoiding a custodial sentence for the offences that he pleaded guilty to. That said it wouldn't surprise me if he was found guilty by the jury, but from what I've read, he's not been proven to be guilty.
That's how I'm seeing it too, though hopefully he still goes to prison for other 2 charges, though I imagine will be a year or less.
The fact that the more serious charges are being tried at all may simply be a ploy by the prosecution. Judges have some degree of discretion in applying sentences and having these sordid details played out blow by blow may well serve to influence the judge. Had he simply been facing a court for sentencing for charges he had already pleaded guilty to whilst issuing a statement of remorse and so on, he may well have been advised to anticipate a degree of leniency. By prosecuting him for the more serious charge, the judge may well be inclined to be less forgiving of the less serious charges regardless of the verdict.
There would only be real evidence if there was a neutral witness or she had physical evidence of it (like the black dress in the Clinton case), but the girl is also a witness....so, if he is found guilty of a worse charge, it will be because they believe her evidence over his.
I believe this to be true. In cases like this where there is little or no forensic evidence and where it is one word against another, the jury has to decide who's story they believe. This is, of course influenced by any lies they perceive to have been told from AJ or the girl while giving evidence.
I really don't understand what Johnson was even thinking. He was in contact with other women (as well as his GF).....was this girl as irresistible as Helen of Troy? Most men would run a mile if they thought they fancied a school girl. He's thrown everything away for a girl that he couldn't claim to even love or care about. At the same time, he has put a young girl in an unpleasant situation at an age when she should be thinking about boys her own age and having fun. She said herself that she's given up her season ticket...sounds trivial in the scheme of things, but to me, it shows how reprehensible he has behaved.
The thing is he knew her age and knew what he was doing was wrong, yet he couldn't control himself. That, for me, is what makes him dangerous and why he should spend some time behind bars with maybe some help on controlling his urges better.
I don't think of him as a *****phile....just a spoilt, arrogant man who perhaps sought thrills because he is bored. He has realised (or at least has been coached to say) that he realises what he did was wrong and feels sorry for the girl. Shame he didn't think of that before. If he met her in a bar, had a few drinks and got carried away with a kiss and a cuddle, we could understand it. However, he knew her age and put himself in a compromising position by meeting her in a car....deserves everything thrown at him. I suspect he won't actually serve very long in prison, but he will have to go abroad if he wants to work in football again.
He's a complete and utter pleb. That's my conclusion, thick footballer who thinks with his penis and not his brain. @fran-MLs little camera - I remember being at school, and a few of the girls (aged 15) had a lot older boyfriends. These girls had no interest in guys their age. It's weird how I didn't think anything of it back then and now I see them on social media with a handful of kids and a fella who's 10 years older than them.
All witnesses have given evidence. The defence will officially conclude their case tomorrow morning. Both prosecution and defence lawyers will give their final statements and the judge will provide his summarisation before the jury retire for the verdict. That should realistically be delivered tomorrow afternoon. Sentencing can be a few minutes after a verdict or a few days later depending on how many charges are faced. The judge should know his sentence for the charges he's pleaded guilty too already, so sentencing should be swift.
The jury should retire today I imagine but it's impossible to know if they willl reach a verdict today or not.
Prosecutor ''Jurors have looked again at photos showing Johnson's body. KB claiming that if abdomen was totally hairless could be easy for 15-year-old girl to assume that he was shaven in his groin area'' This doesnt scan right for me. The 15 year old girl would likely have many chances to see a footballer with a hairless chest, but only 1 to see his groin shaved - during the 'sex act'. If anything this statement seems to help the defence? (the girl says Johnson was shaved downstairs, but all previous evidence seems to indicate otherwise)
