The 28-year-old French defender is on trial in England for eight rapes, one attempted rape and one sexual assault against seven women. He denies all of the charges.
Article written by
Posted
Update
Reading time : 1 min.
The Benjamin Mendy rape trial continues in the UK. The football world champion was presented on Monday August 15 by the prosecution as a “predator” having abused victims “vulnerable, terrified and isolated”. The 28-year-old French defender, suspended for a year by Manchester City, appears in Chester, in the north of England, for eight rapes, an attempted rape and a sexual assault against seven women.
Benjamin Mendy denies the ten counts which relate to facts which allegedly took place between October 2018 and August 2021 at his home in Prestbury, Cheshire. He faces life imprisonment. He is judged alongside Louis Saha Matturie – unrelated to former footballer Louis Saha – prosecuted for eight rapes and four sexual assaults on eight women between July 2012 and August 2021. This friend of Benjamin Mendy also pleaded not guilty.
After two first days of trial devoted to the choice of jurors and the organization of hearings, the court began Monday the presentation of the accusation. Facing the jurors, prosecutor Timothy Cray called the two defendants “predators ready to commit serious sexual abuse”.
He pointed out that some women’s phones may have been confiscated when they went to the player’s home. Other victims also reported feeling like they were locked in rooms, the prosecutor added. According to him, the defendants “Knew very well what they were doing” and were “ready to cross the line” consent “again and again”.
“Ask yourself: who had power and control in the situations these women experienced?”
prosecutor Timothy Crayduring the trial of Benjamin Mendy
The trial is expected to last more than three months. Benjamin Mendy spent more than four months, from August 2021 to January 2022, in pretrial detention. Released in early January, he was placed under judicial supervision pending trial.