Benjamin Mendy: A jury at Chester Crown Court has found Benjamin Mendy not guilty of rape and attempted rape.
In October 2020, the former Manchester City star is said to have raped a 24-year-old woman in a bedroom at his Cheshire house.
In addition, he was accused of attempting to rape a 29-year-old woman at his house two years prior.
The jury at Chester Crown Court returned a verdict of not guilty for Mendy, who had denied both allegations. He said the interactions had been mutually consenting.
The player had earlier this year been cleared of many counts of sexual assault against women, but the jury was unable to reach a judgement on the remaining two accusations.
Prosecutors asserted during his retrial that Mendy entertained guests at his house, The Spinney, while he was still employed by Manchester City.
Mendy had reportedly met a British student at a Barcelona nightclub in 2017. She grew close to one of Mendy’s friends and planned to pay him a visit at the footballer’s house the following year. She claimed that Mendy tried to rape her after a night out.
However, the football player admitted to the jury: “I asked her if we could have sex. She rejected my request because of my acquaintance. It’s OK, my friend thinks it’s okay, so you can do anything you want, I said. That’s when she first became agitated and depressed. I just stepped outside.
Two years later, a woman and her pals were out at a club close to Mendy’s house when they received an invitation to return to the football player’s home.
She said that he escorted her to a closed bedroom after taking her phone. When she went to grab the phone that Mendy had thrown onto the bed, Mendy is accused of raping her.
Mendy said that after their consenting sexual experience, the two exchanged information on Snapchat.
He was questioned about whether he had restrained her or compelled her onto the bed. He said, “No.”
I will never compel a lady to have sex with me, he assured the jurors.
Mendy became the most expensive defender in the Premier League when City paid £52 million to Monaco for him in 2017.
He participated in France’s World Cup-winning squad in 2018 and won three titles with City.
When his contract with the team expired at the end of June, he was let go.
“Benjamin Mendy would like to thank the members of the jury for focusing on the evidence of this trial, rather than the rumor and innuendo that have followed this case from the beginning,” Mendy’s attorney Jenny Wiltshire said in a statement after the trial.
“Mr. Mendy has been tried twice and the jury has both times returned a not guilty verdict. He is happy that both jurors came to the right conclusion.