Benjamin Mendy weeps as he's CLEARED of raping woman at his mansion after Man City star faced retrial | The Sun
BENJAMIN Mendy wept today as he was cleared of raping a woman at his mansion following a retrial.
The Manchester City star, who has been released from the club, was accused of attacking two women during lockdown-busting parties.
Mendy, 28, faced a retrial on one count of rape and one count of attempted rape.
Jurors today unanimously cleared him of both charges after three hours of deliberation.
A statement on behalf of the footballer read: "Benjamin Mendy would like to thank the members of the jury for focusing on the evidence in this trial, rather than on the rumour and innuendo that have followed this case from the outset.
"This is the second time that Mr Mendy has been tried and found not guilty by a jury. He is delighted that both juries reached the correct verdicts.
"It has been almost three years since the police started investigating this matter. Mr Mendy has tried to remain strong but the process has, inevitably had a serious impact on him.
"He thanks everyone who has supported him throughout this ordeal and now asks for privacy so he can begin rebuilding his life."
The French international, who said the encounters were consensual, was previously found not guilty on a string of other charges following a trial.
One of the alleged victims in the retrial, Woman Two, claimed she was raped during the same incident as two other counts on which Mendy was previously cleared.
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Jurors were unable to reach an agreement on the third count, which happened in October 2020.
The attempted rape charge allegedly took place in October 2018.
Woman Two was "forcefully" raped by Mendy in October 2022 after they met at a bar, it was said.
She had been invited back to his multi million pound Cheshire mansion along with her friends, where they were allegedly later asked to hand over their mobiles.
Woman Two followed the star into a bedroom where the doors were locked behind her with an internal locking system, jurors heard.
Mendy allegedly told her he would hand her phone back if he could see her naked, causing the complainant to tell him: "I do not want to have sex with you".
He added: "If you just take off your clothes. I just wanna have a look at you. I promise you I won’t touch you.
"I just wanna see what you look like. I wanna see your body. I wanna see your t***. Your t*** are so big."
She then said he raped her as she struggled against him and told him no, it was alleged.
Mendy called the woman "too shy" as he claimed: "I've had sex with 10,000 women".
Jurors heard also heard how Woman One was allegedly targeted by the Man City star at a gathering in his mansion.
She claimed he attempted to rape her after he followed her into the bathroom.
The court was told she repeatedly asked Mendy to "stop" in French as he held her down.
He then told her: “Don’t worry. Are you scared?"
The woman later messaged a pal, saying: "I just got sexually abused, if that's the right word, by Mendy."
She also said the footballer "wouldn't let me go" in the text in October 2018.
The footballer was accused by prosecutors of being a “predator” who “turned the pursuit of women for sex into a game” at his previous trial.
He was found not guilty of six rapes and one sexual assault against four women in January.
City spent a reported £49.2million signing Mendy from French side Monaco in 2017.
He last played for the club on August 15, 2021, during their 1-0 defeat to Tottenham at the start of last season.
In September 2020, City boss Pep Guardiola revealed Mendy would be out of the game for at least a month due to an injury.
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He was later suspended pending an investigation after being charged.
Mendy, who was released by City last month, denied one count of rape and one of attempted rape.
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