In pre-trial detention since the end of August, Benjamin Mendy finds himself in a whirlwind. Accused of four rapes and one sexual assault by the English police, the defender of Manchester city Benjamin mendy was notified of two new rape charges Tuesday, November 16, on the eve of appearing in court in Stockport, to find out whether he pleads guilty or not guilty. After his questioning, the 27-year-old left side was immediately suspended by his club.
Who is Benjamin Mendy?
Trained in Le Havre in 2007, Benjamin Mendy has long been considered one of the best prospects in his post. Revealed in Marseille where he arrived in 2013, his trainer Marcelo Bielsa estimated that he would become “one of the best full-backs in the world” if he deigned to listen to the advice of his elders. The defender then left for Monaco in 2016. Convinced of his talent, the English Manchester City had not hesitated to pay 52 million pounds (nearly 60 million euros) to recruit him in 2017. him, at the time, the most expensive defender in history.
Benjamin Mendy has seen his career punctuated by injuries, which forced him to spend more time treating his knees and muscle ailments than kicking a ball. He thus achieved the feat of winning six trophies between 2017 and 2019, including the World Cup, playing only 31 matches.
Off the field, before these accusations, the French international was talked about in the fall of 2020. At the time, the British police confiscated his Lamborghini, worth more than 500,000 euros, that he he drove without a license or insurance. After pleading guilty, Benjamin Mendy was fined just over 1,000 euros. A few weeks later, he was reprimanded by his club after violating the health protocol put in place in the face of the Covid-19 epidemic, by organizing New Year’s Eve at home.
What is he blamed for?
Benjamin Mendy is implicated by the English police for six rapes and a sexual assault. The facts, denounced by four people over 16 years old, would have taken place between October 2020 and August 2021, the police said in their press release. He was initially accused of four rapes and one sexual assault in August 2021, before two other rape complaints were added to him in November 2021.
The player has “been remanded in custody “. On three occasions, his lawyers made requests for release, all of which were rejected.
What is he risking?
According to British laws, an accused found guilty of rape risks life imprisonment. But the penalty is rarely applied to its maximum level, and the Manchester City defender actually faces five to ten years in prison, depending on the level of complicity between the victim and the accused, explains Marie-Claire to Ouest-France. Sparrow, French lawyer at the London bar.
A sentence that could also be reduced if he pleads guilty. “He will benefit from a third of sentence reduction”, reports the lawyer on a daily basis. “If he does not plead guilty, on the other hand, he loses this remission, but there is the possibility of being acquitted.”
After the investigation led by the “Crown Prosecution Service”, which is related to the prosecution, will come the trial. Its date is set for January 24, before a popular jury composed of twelve people, guided by a magistrate who ensures the smooth running of the session.
Are there any precedents in football?
In May 2013, Loïc Rémy, then player of the London club of Queens Park Rangers, had been arrested by the police and taken into police custody as part of an investigation into the gang rape of a woman. The charges were finally dropped in February 2014, a few months after striker Bafétimbi Gomis also had benefited from a dismissal in France for similar charges. More recently, the Brazilian Neymar obtained the classification without follow-up to a complaint in Brazil by a woman who accused him of having abused her in May 2019 in a Parisian hotel.
There have also been some spectacular convictions, like that of the Brazilian, and former Manchester City player, Robinho. In November 2017, it was sentenced to nine years in prison by Italian justice for the rape in a meeting of a young woman, while he was playing at AC Milan. The sentence was upheld on appeal three years later. Currently in Brazil, the player has never been arrested to serve his sentence.