Former Spitfire Ben Johnson to be sentenced Tuesday

Former Windsor Spitfire Ben Johnson will be sentenced on Tuesday.

His sentencing hearing began on Monday morning.

Johnson was found guilty in September of sexually assaulting a 16 year-old girl at a downtown nightclub in 2013.

Johnson has been out on bail since he was found guilty. He appeared in court at 10 a.m.

Five victim impact statements were submitted to the court, with four read aloud. The judge also received a bound book of character references for Johnson.

CBC Windsor's Aadel Haleem is live-blogging the action from the courthouse. Follow him here. Having trouble seeing his tweets? Follow this link.

During the trial, Johnson's lawyers argued their client never had sex with the victim in a downtown bar's bathroom in 2013, suggesting other consensual contact was made with the girl.

Judge Kirk Munroe said he didn't believe Johnson's explanation, citing several items of forensic evidence that showed sexual intercourse had occurred.

He also concluded that the victim could not have given consent because of the high alcohol level in her body.

Last year, Johnson was found not guilty of another alleged sexual assault a few weeks before the incident on St. Patrick's Day.

The New Jersey Devils NHL franchise announced it was beginning the process of releasing Johnson following his conviction.