Once again, he remained silent. Impassive face, dark suit and white shirt. As at each of his court hearings since the end of August 2021, Benjamin Mendy was content, Wednesday February 2, to listen carefully to the Anglo-French interpreter, without revealing anything, sitting on the bench in wood in court number 3 of the court of Chester (United Kingdom), near Liverpool.
The case against the French footballer has however increased. A new charge, for attempted rape, was filed against him. The world champion with the Blues in 2018, 27, must now answer for seven rapes, an attempted rape and a sexual assault from six different complainants, one of whom was a minor at the time of the events.
A talented footballer, Benjamin Mendy has gone through his career with an often confusing lightness. Even when justice began to hold him accountable. In July 2021, he appeared on social networks on vacation in Miami (Florida) with rapper Booba. A month later, his name left the sports news to invest the news item: the “Mendy affair” broke out on August 26, 2021.
Said case was not yet in the public square, but three women had already accused the footballer of rape between October 2020 and July 2021. Benjamin Mendy was then on parole. On August 23, he is however suspected of having committed a new rape on a fourth woman. Four days later, he was placed in pre-trial detention, from which he did not come out until January.
Since then, the file has been packed. In December 2021, Benjamin Mendy had to choose to plead guilty or not guilty. But a new woman made herself known to the courts and filed a complaint for rape. This Wednesday, when the footballer was to announce his line of defense, a new complaint was filed. This time, the facts date back to 2018.
His co-defendant, 40-year-old Louis Saha Maturie (no relation to former professional footballer Louis Saha), is also facing eight rape and four sexual assault charges. Their trial should in principle begin at the end of July. If he remains on parole, Benjamin Mendy does not seem ready to see the land again.
immature
In June 2017, England discovered the native of Longjumeau (Essonne) with the label of the most expensive defender in history at the time: Manchester City had just recruited him from AS Monaco, against 57 million euros. euros. “For six months he had been a rocket on the field and had contributed to the French championship title, but the managers knew they could not manage him for more than one season and this sale was a good one”says a connoisseur of the Principality club.
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