The allegations and trial had been ‘absolute hell’ for the Premier League star, the court heard.
Premier League footballer Benjamin Mendy has been cleared of sex attacks on four women following a six-month trial, as prosecutors sought a retrial over two other allegations.
The verdicts could not be reported until jurors concluded considering the remaining two counts, after they were given a majority direction by Judge Steven Everett, meaning he would accept a 10-1 majority on any verdict. Jurors also failed to reach verdicts on three counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault against him by five other women.Matthew Conway, prosecuting, said the prosecution will seek a retrial on the counts the jury could not reach verdicts on.
Mendy had been accused of being a “predator” who turned the pursuit of women for sex into a game, his trial heard, drinking champagne in VIP areas of Manchester nightclubs before inviting young women into “toxic and dangerous” situations at “after-parties” at his £4.7 million Cheshire mansion in Mottram St Andrew, near Prestbury.
He was first arrested in November 2020 after the alleged triple rape of the 24-year-old woman at his home the previous month. Jurors were told not to take a “moralistic” approach to the defendants’ sexual lifestyles, and the approach of Cheshire Police was also criticised in court.Eleanor Laws KC, defending Mendy, suggested “regret” at having “quick, animalistic sex” is not the same as being raped.
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