THE NSPCC slammed Sunderland yesterday for playing convicted paedophile Adam Johnson throughout the police investigation into child sex offences, knowing throughout that time that he was guilty.

The former Black Cats winger was found guilty on one charge of sexual activity with a child on Wednesday, having been acquitted of another.

A spokesman for the NSPCC said: “If they had known he had kissed a girl prior to his guilty plea, then we think they should have suspended him pending the ongoing investigation.

“It would have sent the right message to people that this is a serious offence and needed to be properly investigated.”

Wearside Women in Need director Clare Phillipson also attacked the club’s decision to lift the suspension placed on Johnson following his arrest on March 2 last year if, as was claimed in court, they were aware the allegations were true.

She said: “If that’s true, then at that point they definitely should have suspended him because in allowing him to continue to play, tens of thousands of fans and lots of other people thought: ‘Oh well, the club is still letting him play, the case against him can’t be very good, he probably is innocent’.”

Phillipson added that the victim was in her thoughts and hit out at the members in the public who vilified the 15-year-old.

“When he was first arrested and released on police bail, there were literally thousands of comments on websites about that and the vast majority were vilifying his victim, which would have added to her trauma,” she said.

“If we want to stamp out the behaviour of predatory paedophiles, then we need to send a very clear message to victims that if you do come forward, you won’t be vilified and you’ll be listened to with a fair process for both sides.”

Sunderland have vehemently refuted the claims that they knew the nature of the offences and that they chose to play the former England international due to their desperation for points, with manager Sam Allardyce saying: “Adam, as far as I know, was pleading not guilty all the way through from the day I arrived — obviously, this incident had happened well before I got here.

“On the basis of that information to me that he was pleading not guilty on all charges is why we continued to let him train and play for us.”

But the NSPCC described his behaviour towards his victim as “predatory” and “inexcusable.”

The spokesman continued: “Adam Johnson cynically used his celebrity status as a professional footballer to groom and sexually abuse an impressionable schoolgirl.

“Even though he was fully aware of her age, he continued the relationship without any concern for the profound and damaging impact it might have on her.

“His behaviour throughout was inexcusable, made even worse by the fact his not guilty pleas forced his young victim to suffer the harrowing experience of giving evidence in court.

“We hope she gets the appropriate help to recover from this dreadful episode and Johnson takes the time to reflect on how his predatory actions have caused so much anguish.”