Following a six-month trial, a judgment in the UK on Friday exonerated Manchester City and France midfielder Benjamin Mendy of six charges of rape and one count of sexual assault against four women.
A seventh charge of rape and one of attempted rape also weren’t adjudicated by the jury of seven men and four women while the prosecution said that they will ask for a new trial on those counts.
BREAKING: Footballer Benjamin Mendy has been found not guilty of six counts of rape and one charge of sexual assault against five women.
More on this breaking story: https://t.co/xxMgdqMgYB
đź“ş Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/66hsw69cDC
— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 13, 2023
As the convictions were announced, Manchester City defender Mendy, 28, who had contested all nine of the charges against the six women, acted innocent during the whole trial and tossed side to side.
Judge Steven Everett promptly ordered June 26 as the beginning of a fresh trial for the two counts on which the evidences seems complicated.
The jury failed to reach a verdict on one allegation of rape and one count of attempted rape, thus Mendy will attend a new trial.
https://twitter.com/FnewsFoot/status/1614027045889097729?t=zeLndMDYIlqi3xDeNzYIiA&s=19
“It is not unusual that jurors don’t reach verdicts on some counts. You have to be true to your duty,”- Everett said as he praised them and granted them a seven-year exemption from jury duty.
Louis Saha Matturie, a friend of Mendy and a co-defendant, was cleared of all three counts of rape. According to the Guardian, Matturie will go on trial once more in September on three further counts of rape and three other counts of sexual assault.
Manchester City banned Benjamin Mendy from participating as a representative of the club since 2021 and has held a strong patron against the Frenchman.
Man City statement on the Benjamin Mendy case. pic.twitter.com/sT7K7D8Iew
— Beewol (@beewol) January 13, 2023
A statement from Mendy’s club Manchester City said: “Given there are open matters related to this case, the club is not in a position to comment further at this time.”
Mendy was brought to the Manchester blue in 2017 from AS Monaco and the former World Cup winner has played 75 games for them while netting two times.
