Adam Johnson says he knew girl he groomed was 15 years old
The footballer is accused of two counts of sexual activity with a child
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Footballer Adam Johnson has admitted he knew the fan he is accused of having sexual activity with was 15 at the time, his trial has heard.
Mr Johnson has previously pleaded guilty to one count of sexual activity with a child and one count of grooming. His current trial, which relates to the same victim, sees him accused of two counts of sexual activity with a child. He denies the charges.
In a pre-prepared statement read out at Bradford Crown Court, Mr Johnson said: “I accept the stupidity of my actions. I have no excuse. I was aware by then of her age," Sky News reports.
He reportedly added: "I wholeheartedly and unreservedly apologise to the girl for the stupidity of my actions.
In the statement Mr Johnson admitted he had kissed the child "fully on the lips" on the pair's second meeting on 30 January.
"I accept that she was a child and should have been safe in my company," he added.
On Friday the court heard that Mr Johnson had made a Google search for "legal age of consent" on his phone four days after he met the child on 30 January.
Last week the court saw a 10 second video secretly taken by the 15-year-old girl before an alleged sexual encounter, which she said she recorded "to show that I had actually met up with him".
She had uploaded the video to Snapchat, the social media platform where uploaded content is automatically deleted after 24 hours. A friend of the alleged victim recorded the footage on her phone befroe it disappeared.
Taken inside Mr Johnson's car, the video allegedly shows former Sunderland winger and the dashboard of his vehicle.
The schoolgirl told the jury last week that she had stopped trying to protect the England footballer because he "made me out to be a liar".
Asked by the prosecution if she was still trying to protect Johnson, she said: "No, because he did nothing to protect me and he made me out to be a liar".
The trial continues.