A jury at Chester Crown Court has found Benjamin Mendy not guilty of rape and attempted rape. The former Manchester City player had been accused of raping a 24-year-old woman in October 2020 and attempting to rape a 29-year-old woman two years prior. Mendy, who denied the charges, was acquitted by a jury consisting of six men and six women. He maintained that the encounters were consensual.
Earlier this year, Mendy had also been found not guilty of sexual offenses against multiple women, although the jury had been unable to reach a verdict on the two charges in question.
During the retrial, it was revealed that Mendy would often host parties and social gatherings at his home, The Spinney, while playing for Manchester City. The court heard about an incident involving a British student whom Mendy had met in a Barcelona nightclub in 2017. She later visited Mendy at his home, where she alleged he attempted to rape her. Mendy claimed that he had asked for her consent and respected her decision when she declined.
In another incident two years later, a woman alleged that Mendy had raped her after taking her phone and leading her to a locked bedroom in his home. Mendy stated that their encounter was consensual and that they had even exchanged contact details on Snapchat. He denied holding her down or using force.
Following his acquittal, Mendy’s solicitor, Jenny Wiltshire, expressed gratitude to the jury for focusing on the evidence presented during the trial rather than the rumors and speculation surrounding the case. Wiltshire emphasized that this was the second time Mendy had been tried and found not guilty, expressing Mendy’s satisfaction with the jury’s verdict. Mendy, who had been the Premier League’s most expensive defender when Manchester City signed him for £52 million from Monaco in 2017, was released by the club when his contract expired in June.
