Benjamin Mendy, the Manchester City striker, was found not guilty on six rape counts and one sexual assault case in a Chester, England, court ruling delivered on Friday. The jury did not reach a verdict on charges of rape and attempted rape, leaving open the possibility of a retrial in a new proceeding.
The 28-year-old was suspended by Manchester City in August 2021 as the allegations surfaced. He had refused to enter a guilty plea in May 2022. The case, which also involved a friend of Mendy, began on August 10, 2022.
After 14 days of deliberation, the jury, consisting of seven men and four women, found Mendy not guilty on one of the seven counts against him. They were unable to reach a verdict on two charges of attempted rape—one involving a 2018 incident and another from October 2020.
The jurors also found Mendy’s friend not guilty on three counts of rape involving two teenagers. However, the panel has yet to resolve verdicts on three additional rape charges and three sexual assault counts attributed to her, as reported during the trial.
During testimony, Mendy spoke of the accusations as a lifelong haunting, describing football life as feeling like it might be over and comparing the experience to hell. He has previously been described in the proceedings as someone who allegedly met the accusers at Manchester nightclubs and invited them to private parties at a Cheshire estate where the incidents were alleged to have occurred.
The defence notes that Mendy was first arrested in November 2022 on allegations of raping a 24-year-old woman on three occasions. He was subsequently released under investigation, and during the period he faced other allegations, including a separate claim of sexual harassment by a different woman. While on bail, additional accusations involved three other women, including a 17-year-old, who alleged rape.