French footballer Benjamin Mendy found not guilty of rape and attempted rape

2 mins

Aged 28, Benjamin Mendy burst into tears when the verdict was announced, after three weeks of trial in Chester (north of England) and just over three hours of deliberation. He had been retried since the end of June on two charges for which the jury had not reached a verdict at the end of the first trial last January.

He was accused of the rape of a 24-year-old woman in October 2020 and of the attempted rape of a 29-year-old woman two years earlier, charges which he strongly contested, assuring that these relations, which took place at his home, were granted.

” Benjamin Mendy wants to thank the members of the jury – six women and six men – “ for focusing on the evidence in this trial rather than the rumors and innuendo that have accompanied this case from the start “, declared his lawyers at the end of the verdict, underlining the “ severe impact of this procedure on him.

Dark suit and ocher overcoat, Benjamin Mendy did not speak and refused to answer questions from journalists.

Found not guilty at first trial

During the hearing, prosecutor Benjamin Aina described Mendy as a man whose notoriety and wealth meant that he was not used to women telling him “ No “. The footballer, accustomed to parties in his luxurious home, had meanwhile assured that “ Never he wouldn’t force a woman. One of the complainants claimed that Mendy bragged about having had sex with “ 10,000 women “.

During the first trial, after four months of hearings, the jury, made up of eight men and four women, had declared him not guilty of six rapes and a sexual assault. The jury had retired to deliberate on December 5, but talks had been halted several times due to Covid-19 cases and then for a long-planned break, before a truce over the holiday season. year.

The defender with 10 selections with the Blues, had been suspended by Manchester City who did not renew his contract which expired on June 30.

(With AFP)