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A jury at Chester Crown Court finds Mr Mendy not guilty of six counts of rape and one of sexual assault, but jurors could not reach verdicts on one count of rape and one of attempted rape
Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy has been found not guilty of rape and sexual assault charges but faces the prospect of a retrial after jurors failed to reach majority verdicts on two other counts.
Mr Mendy, 28, was cleared on six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault following a six-month trial at Chester Crown Court.
Jurors could not reach verdicts on one count of rape and one of attempted rape. Any decision on a retrial on those outstanding charges is pending.
Louis Saha Matturie, 41, Benjamin Mendy’s co-accused and alleged “fixer” was found not guilty by the jury of three counts of rape relating to two teenagers.
The unanimous verdicts were delivered on Wednesday by the seven men and four women on the jury, one juror having been discharged earlier for medical reasons.
The verdicts could not be reported until jurors concluded their consideration of the remaining counts.
Judge Steven Everett told them he would accept a 10-1 majority on any verdict, but after 14 days of deliberation, jurors were still deadlocked on Mr Mendy’s alleged attempted rape of a woman, 29, in 2018 and the rape of another woman, 24, in October 2020.
Judge Everett discharged the jury on Friday, ending the trial.
During a six-month trial, the court heard the allegations had been “absolute hell” for Mr Mendy and that his life in football “is over” as he would “never escape” the accusations.
Mr Mendy had been accused of being a “predator” who turned the pursuit of women for sex into a game, his trial heard, drinking champagne in VIP areas of Manchester nightclubs before inviting young women into “toxic and dangerous” situations at “after-parties” at his £4.7 million Cheshire mansion in Mottram St Andrew, near Prestbury.
