For a week, England football has only been talking about that. The trial of the year has just followed on the side of Chester, in the north of the country and it concerns one of the best French players. Benjamin Mendy, 28 and world champion in 2018 with France, has been charged for almost a year for very serious facts. Following the first accusations, new complaints were added and today it is 7 women who accuse him of 8 rapes and a sexual assault. Tried with his accomplice, Louis Saha Matturie (no link with former footballer Louis Saha), the two men face 22 charges and incur life imprisonment.
A particularly dark trial in which we learn more about this case. It was first the profile of the two defendants that was described by the Attorney General, although the jurors were able to learn more about the supposed modus operandi of the two men. To commit their crimes, they invited young women to Benjamin Mendy’s mansion, located in a very isolated place and whose architecture and the locking system of certain rooms facilitated their actions. The Attorney General also returned to the early days of the case, which started in August 2021. At the time, the 15th of that month, whoever is still a professional footballer for the Manchester City club takes part in the first league game.
Benjamin Mendy would not have respected the restrictions of the judge
At the time of the meeting, Benjamin Mendy is already aware that two rape complaints were filed against him, as reported The Parisian, which follows the trial. The judge in charge of the case decides to release him on parole while the investigation progresses. Nevertheless, he issued several conditions for this release, including the prohibition to organize parties at his home. A restriction that the defender will not respect, since on August 23, he and his accomplice will bring a woman to his home. According to the transcript of the trial by our colleagues, the two men raped her in one of the rooms with a special lock. They allegedly raped him a second time in his private movie theatre. Three days later, the athlete was arrested by the police and placed in detention before remaining behind bars for several months.
Benjamin Mendy remains presumed innocent of the charges against him until the final judgment.
The article from Le Parisien on the trial of Benjamin Mendy can be found in the edition of the day.