French international Benjamin Mendy was found not guilty by a British court this Friday of rape and one attempted rape, six months after he was acquitted of seven other sex offences.
Mendy, 28, broke down in tears when he learned of the verdict, which came after a three-week trial in Chester Court, northern England, after about three hours of deliberation by the jury.
The player, who was suspended by Manchester City and ended his contract with the English and European champions on June 30, was accused of raping a 24-year-old woman in October 2020 and of attempting to rape another 29-year-old woman. two years later.
In January, Mendy was found not guilty of six counts of rape and one sexual assault after a five-month trial, but had to return to answer in court after a popular jury failed to reach a verdict on two counts. tried it now..
During the trial, the player, who was teammates with Portuguese Rubén Dias, João Cancelo and Bernardo Silva at Manchester City, was presented by the Public Health Ministry as a “predator” who abused “vulnerable and frightened” victims.
Mendy, who was arrested in August 2021 and spent more than four months in pre-trial detention, denied being a “danger to women”, claiming all the sexual interactions he was accused of were consensual.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.