Adam Johnson's father drives him out of prison at midnight in a blacked-out van after three years behind bars but paedophile ex-footballer is banned from seeing his daughter, four, alone
- Adam Johnson has left HMP Moorland after serving half his sentence
- He was locked up in 2016 for grooming, kissing and touching a 15-year-old
- His father was seen leaving the prison in Doncaster early this morning
- He can only see his four-year-old daughter Ayla with social worker supervision
Adam Johnson is back at his £2million mansion after he was released from prison in the early hours of this morning and driven home in a blacked-out Mercedes van.
The disgraced footballer's father, Dave Johnson, drove out of the gates of HMP Moorland just after midnight. The van later arrived at the footballer's home in the upmarket village of Castle Eden, County Durham.
Johnson's sister Faye has been planning a party for him and was this week seen buying 'welcome home' balloons at a local shop.
Johnson, now 31, has served just half of the six-year sentence he was given for grooming, kissing and touching a 15-year-old girl.
He remains on licence and, as part of his release conditions, he will no longer be permitted to spend time alone with his four-year-old daughter Ayla. A social worker is expected to be brought in to monitor them.
The former Manchester City and Sunderland winger, who once played for England, now faces an uphill battle to try to resurrect his football career, after all of the football league clubs in the area of his home told the Mail they would not contemplate signing him.
The ex-Sunderland footballer was expected to be released from prison late last night and his father was pictured late last night leaving the prison with a police van closely behind him
Adam Johnson's father Dave was spotted driving out of the prison at around midnight
Johnson, pictured (left) after his arrest, remains on licence. His parents were pictured (right) earlier this week visiting the prison with his daughter
Following his early release he is set to be closely watched by officials, despite not being issued with a criminal tag.
Standard licence conditions are that the offender keep in touch in a supervisor and live permanently at the address they give to authorities.
He will only be allowed to take up work if his supervisor approves it, and police will examine any overseas travel plans before he is allowed out of the UK.
Johnson will also have more stringent conditions under the terms of the sex offenders' register, which he will sign for the rest of his life.
As well as not being permitted to see his daughter or other children unsupervised, he will have to hand over his bank card in order to prevent him accessing paid-for porn sites.
Johnson's seven-bedroom home is said to have a bowling alley, swimming pool and football nets in the back garden.
He lives 100 yards away from his his father and mother, Sonia. His sister Faye also lives in the village.
The home Johnson shared with his ex girlfriend Stacey Flounders and their daughter Ayla at the time of his arrest has since been bought by cricketer Ben Stokes.
Stacey Flounders (right) previously said Johnson had destroyed her life and he is a sex addict
Johnson (above) has also been told that football leagues clubs will not go near him once he is released from prison
A neighbour said: 'He has been a stupid boy but he has served his time in prison and he's entitled to start again. What he did was very foolish of course but there are much worse crimes committed.'
Johnson was jailed at Bradford Crown Court in 2016 and the court heard that he deleted 800 messages between him and his victim, who he is also banned from contacting.
Following his release he will also have to hand over his phone to officials without surrender and could be recalled to jail if he deletes anything without their knowledge.
Ayla's mother Stacey Flounders had previously said that Johnson had 'destroyed' her life. She also highlighted that she thought he was a sex addict and not a paedophile.
Johnson will now have to wait 15 years before he can apply to come off the sex offenders register.
He has also been told that football leagues clubs will not go near him after Sportsmail contacted the clubs of his local area in Durham.
Adam Johnson will find English football has turned its back on him once he is out of prison
Not one of the League One or League Two clubs within a daily commute of Johnson’s home in County Durham said they would consider speaking to him.
One chief executive said he could not envisage any Football League club offering the 31-year-old a way back into the game given the nature of his conviction and the backlash it would cause.
We have also discovered that Johnson will be denied the chance of a payday in China because of strict visa requirements to work in the country.
The ex-Manchester City and Sunderland winger said during a leaked video from his time in prison that he had more hope of reviving his playing career abroad, and the likes of the Chinese Super League have been mooted.
Back in January Johnson's sister Faye tweeted that she 'can finally say my brother is coming home this year'.
Johnson is set to remain under license conditions until the conclusion of his full jail term in 2022.
