Mendy found not guilty of rape charges
Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy has been found not guilty of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault against four young women.
The jury failed to reach verdicts on one count of rape and one of attempted rape and a retrial will take place.
Louis Saha Matturie, 41, Mendy’s friend, was also found not guilty of three counts of rape against two teenagers.
Jurors at Chester Crown Court could not reach verdicts on six other counts by five other women.
Mr Mendy, 28, and his friend Mr Matturie, had been accused of raping women at the player’s home in Prestbury, Cheshire, and at a Manchester flat.
Mr Mendy covered his face with both hands as the jury foreman repeated “not guilty” to the six counts.
During a six-month trial, prosecutors told the jury Mr Mendy was a “predator” who turned the pursuit of women for sex into a game.
But jurors were also told by defence lawyers that while the trial, involving money, sex and celebrity, had “all the makings of a good drama”, it came with a significant “plot twist” – that the accused were innocent.
Lawyers for both men argued each allegation was “riddled with inconsistencies and flaws”.
Lisa Wilding KC, representing Mr Matturie, told jurors it was “chillingly easy” to make false allegations and suggested all the women involved were in some way connected through friendships, social media or by attending parties.
Defending Mr Mendy, Eleanor Laws KC, suggested that “regret” at having “quick, animalistic sex” was not the same as being raped.
Jurors were told not to take a “moralistic” approach to the defendants’ sexual lifestyles.
The unanimous not guilty 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 considering the remaining two counts, after they were given a majority direction by Judge Steven Everett, meaning he would accept a 10-1 majority on any verdict. —BBC
