Former Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy has been acquitted of charges of rape and attempted rape. The French international had been accused of raping a 24-year-old woman in October 2020 and attempting to rape a 29-year-old woman two years earlier at his Cheshire mansion. Mendy consistently denied the allegations and maintained that the encounters were consensual.
Following an earlier trial where Mendy was found not guilty of sexual offences against multiple women but the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the two charges, a retrial took place at Chester Crown Court. The jury, consisting of six men and six women, found Mendy not guilty of both rape and attempted rape.
During the retrial, prosecutors presented evidence that Mendy hosted parties and social gatherings at his home, known as The Spinney, while he was contracted with Manchester City. One of the incidents involved a British student who had met Mendy in a Barcelona nightclub in 2017 and subsequently visited his home. She alleged that Mendy tried to rape her after a night out. Mendy disputed the claim, stating that he had asked for consent and respected her refusal.
Another woman claimed that Mendy took her phone, led her to a locked bedroom, and raped her during a gathering near his home. Mendy asserted that their encounter was consensual and that they exchanged contact details on Snapchat.
Mendy, who became the world’s most expensive defender when he joined Manchester City from Monaco for £52 million in 2017, won three Premier League titles with the club and was a member of France’s 2018 World Cup-winning squad. His contract with Manchester City expired in June, and the club subsequently released him.
After the jury’s verdict, Mendy expressed his stance that he would never force a woman to engage in sexual activity against her will.
