Man City release statement on Benjamin Mendy as star is cleared of six rapes but faces retrial on two claims
MANCHESTER City have released a statement today on Benjamin Mendy after the star was cleared of raping women at his mansion.
Mendy was found not guilty of raping the women during lockdown-busting parties.
The Man City star was accused of being a “predator” who “turned the pursuit of women for sex into a game”.
Mendy, 28, also allegedly locked his victims in a “panic room” and hid their phones so they could not escape.
But the French international was today found not guilty of six rapes and one sexual assault against four women.
Jurors could not reach verdicts on one count of rape and one of attempted rape against two other alleged victims.
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The football club released a statement after the verdict - but before the announcement that he would face a retrial.
It read: "Manchester City FC notes the verdict from Chester Crown Court today, where a jury has found Benjamin Mendy not guilty of seven charges.
"The jury is hung on two charges and the trial is now over.
"Given there are open matters related to this case, the club is not in a position to comment further at this time."
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A retrial for Mendy, who remains in custody, has now been set for June 26, with a pre-trial hearing set to be held on January 27.
The re-trial is expected to last two or three weeks.
Earlier, Judge Everett brought jurors back into court and asked if they would reach further verdicts if given more time.
The foreman of the jury replied: "No. We are at a point now where we can't agree."
Judge Everett told them: "It is not unusual that jurors don't reach verdicts on some counts. You have to be true to your duty."
During a six-month trial, jurors were told the left-back lured young women into “toxic and dangerous” situations at his six-bedroom Cheshire home.
Co-defendant Louis Saha Matturie acted as Mendy’s “fixer” by getting girls as young as 17 to attend the lockdown-busting parties after nights spent in the VIP sections of clubs drinking £1,500 bottles of Champagne, it was said.
Some of his victims claimed their phones were taken away from them on arrival leaving them unable to call for help.
Once inside, the women were allegedly treated as “disposable…used for sex then thrown to one side”.
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But his lawyer Eleanor Laws KC told jurors to end Mendy's "absolute hell" and acquit him.
She said claims he used his fame to attack women - with the prosecution comparing him to Jimmy Savile - were "utterly ridiculous".