“Alhamdulillah”, that was all Benjamin Mendy could tell the press after he was finally cleared of all the rape and attempted rape charges that have halted his football career for almost three years.
The 28-year-old former Manchester City defender was accused of rapping a 24-year-old woman at his £4 million home in Mottram St. Andrew, Cheshire, in October 2020.
Benjamin Mendy was also accused of attempting to rape another woman, age 29, who claimed he had previously abused her at his house two years earlier.
The footballer, whose contract with Manchester City expired this month, was cleared at the earlier trial of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, relating to four young women or teenagers.
He was acquitted of the six rape-related counts after almost two years of legal battles that ended in January 2023.
Unfortunately, jurors failed to reach verdicts on two counts of rape and attempted rape, prompting a re-trial.
Benjamin Mendy was allowed to go and returned to the court in June for the commencement of the re-trial which lasted for three weeks.
On Friday, July 14, the jury of six men and six women deliberated for about three hours and 15 minutes before concluding. They concluded that Benjamin Mendy didn’t rape a woman and didn’t attempt to rape another as charged.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner sobbed as the jury’s verdict of not guilty was read aloud at a Chester Crown Court in Manchester, England.
Judge Steven Everett said: “Mr. Mendy can be discharged from the dock.”
As he was leaving the court as a free man for the first time in almost three years, reporters tried to get his reaction. The emotional Frenchman couldn’t say anything after saying “Alhamdulillah” which simply means “Thank God”.
