Man City’s Benjamin Mendy in court charged with seven counts of rape

MANCHESTER City ace Benjamin Mendy has arrived in court on charges of sexually assaulting six women.

The 27-year-old footballer arrived at Chester Crown Court alongside his co-defendant Louis Matturie, 40, and both will appear in court on July 25.

4

4

Mendy is accused of a total of nine offences, including seven of rape, against six different applicants.

A pre-trial hearing was held today in preparation, which the France international had to attend.

He was photographed in a gray suit entering the Crown Court this morning after sunbathing in a Cheshire cafe during an earlier hearing.

Matturie was charged with 12 counts involving eight victims.

Mendy was released on bail in January after serving 134 days in detention following his arrest in August.

Judge Patrick Thompson released him from prison during a private hearing, but imposed a list of “severe” conditions.

He has to surrender his passport and is not allowed to contact complainants.

Mendy is also required to live in his £4.8million six-bedroom mansion in Cheshire but is legally free to go out and meet friends.

He is accused of seven rapes involving four women, one for sexual assault and one for attempted rape.

One of the counts was taken on August 23 – just three days before his indictment, they say.

It is the second rape Mendy allegedly committed while on police bail since his arrest in November.

Mendy is also accused of three times raping a woman at the Cheshire mansion in October 2020.

The footballer is said to have sexually harassed a woman in early January 2021.

Co-defendant Louis Saha Matturie, 40, is charged with 10 offenses involving seven women, including seven counts of raping five women and three counts of sexual assault.

Premier League champions Man City reportedly spent £49.2million to sign Mendy from French club Monaco in 2017.

He last played for the club in their 1-0 defeat by Tottenham at the start of the season on 15 August.

In September 2020, City boss Pep Guardiola announced that Mendy would be out for at least a month due to injury.

In a statement, the club later said: “Manchester City can confirm that following his arraignment by police today, Benjamin Mendy has been suspended pending an investigation.

“The matter is subject to a court hearing and the club are therefore unable to comment further until this hearing is complete.”

4

4