26th June, 2023
Benjamin Mendy’s retrial at Chester Crown Court is set to begin today, with the French footballer facing one charge of attempted rape against one woman and rape against another.
Mendy, 28, claims he is innocent of the charges. The trial is expected to last two to three weeks and will be presided over by Chester Honorary Recorder Judge Steven Everett.
Mendy was found not guilty of seven counts of rape and one count of sex assault after a five-month trial. However, the jury was unable to reach verdicts on two alleged sex offences by two women.
He is also accused of attempting to rape a woman in 2018 and raped another woman in October 2020.
His departure from Manchester City was confirmed last week when his contract expired at the end of June. The club had suspended him since his arrest in August 2021.
Louis Saha Matturie of Eccles, Salford, Mendy’s co-accused, was found not guilty of three counts of rape involving two teenagers.
The jury was unable to reach a decision on three additional rape counts and three sexual assault allegations made against him by five other women. Matturie, who denies all charges, will face a separate retrial beginning in September.
The defender joined City from Monaco in 2017 for £52 million and won three Premier League titles with the club.