Benjamin Mendy cleared of multiple rape allegations
There is some respite for troubled football star Benjamin Mendy as he was Friday cleared by a jury of raping women at his isolated mansion during lockdown-busting parties.
The Man City star was accused by prosecutors of being a “predator” who “turned the pursuit of women for sex into a game”.
Mendy, 28, also allegedly locked his victims in a “panic room” and hid their phones so they could not escape.
But the French international was today found not guilty of six rapes and one sexual assault against four women.
Jurors could not reach verdicts on one count of rape and one of attempted rape against two other alleged victims.
A re-trial, expected to last two to three weeks, has now been set for June 26, with a pre-trial hearing set to be held on January 27.
Earlier, Judge Everett brought jurors back into court and asked if they would reach further verdicts if given more time.
The foreman of the jury replied: "No. We are at a point now where we can't agree."
Judge Everett told them: "It is not unusual that jurors don't reach verdicts on some counts. You have to be true to your duty."
Mendy, who remains in custody, is "delighted" to have been cleared of sex attacks on four women and "looks forward" to clearing his name at a re-trial, his lawyer Jenny Wiltshire said.
Man City also released a statement today following the verdicts.
During a six-month trial, jurors were told by prosecutors that the left-back lured young women into “toxic and dangerous” situations at his six-bedroom Cheshire home.
Co-defendant Louis Saha Matturie acted as Mendy’s “fixer” by getting girls as young as 17 to attend the lockdown-busting parties after nights spent in the VIP sections of clubs drinking £1,500 bottles of champagne, it was alleged.
Saha, 41, was found not guilty of three counts of rape relating to two teenagers.
Jurors failed to reach verdicts on three counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault against him by five other women.
Some of the alleged victims claimed their phones were taken away from them on arrival leaving them unable to call for help.
Once inside, the women were allegedly treated as “disposable… used for sex then thrown to one side”.
But his lawyer Eleanor Laws KC told jurors to end Mendy's "absolute hell" and acquit him.
She said claims he used his fame to attack women - with the prosecution comparing him to Jimmy Savile - were "utterly ridiculous".
Ms Laws told the court: "He's not the kind of character to deliberately harm anyone under any circumstances.
"If you are not sure he's a predatory monster, he's entitled to acquittal.
"It is one word against another.
"His life as he knew it is over, in football, in the UK - these accusations, he will never escape."
A number of famous faces were dragged into the trial – including Mendy’s Man City teammates.
One of the women claimed she had sex with England hero Jack Grealish at an “after party”.
She later texted her pal: “Ha ha ha I have slept with Jack Grealish.”
Kyle Walker was also at one of the parties at Mendy’s mansion in July 2021.
City manager Pep Guardiola was sensationally called to give evidence – and described Mendy as a “really good boy”.
The gaffer also told jurors he was “not happy” about the player's parties.
But he added: “I control my players when we are together in training sessions. In their private life, I don’t know what they do.
“I don’t follow the players on social media so I don’t know what they are doing outside my control in training sessions and in games.”
He continued: “I’m not his father.”
During Mendy’s own sensational evidence, he said it was “honestly, so easy” for him to meet up with women and have sex “because of the status”.
The French international claimed the attention became “10 times more” when he began playing for Man City and admitted he is "no Brad Pitt".
He also told jurors he would often sleep with different women on the same night, admitting: “For me it was normal, I realised just now it sounds bad.”
The jury heard the player boasted to one alleged victim that he had slept with “10,000” women and told her it was a “privilege” to be one of them.
Mendy, who missed the World Cup, was bailed in January last year after spending 134 days in custody following his arrest in August 2021.
He continued to be selected by City for 10 months after his first arrest for rape, playing or being part of nearly 50 match squads.
But after he was charged, City stopped paying his wages a month later, forcing him to sell his Lamborghini Aventador to pay for his legal fees.
Premier League champions City spent a reported £49.2million signing Mendy from French side Monaco in 2017.
He last played for the club on August 15, 2021, during their 1-0 defeat to Tottenham at the start of last season.
A spokesperson added after today's verdicts: "Manchester City FC notes the verdict from Chester Crown Court today, where a jury has found Benjamin Mendy not guilty of seven charges.
"The jury is hung on two charges and the trial is now over.
"Given there are open matters related to this case, the club is not in a position to comment further at this time."
The Crown Prosecution Service has seven days to consider a retrial.
