Benjamin Mendy’s rape trial got underway today following the footballer’s arrest back in August 2021.
The Manchester City left-back is accused of attacking five women between October 2020 and August 2021, reports the BBC, with the Frenchman facing charges of seven counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and one count of sex assault.
The 28-year-old has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges and last week denied an eighth count of rape ahead of his trial, reported Sky News.
Mendy’s trial got underway today at Chester crown court where the horrific details of the footballer’s crimes were revealed.
A court heard today that Mendy abused his wealth and fame to lure women back to his gated Cheshire home and raped them when they either said no or were too drunk to consent, reports The Guardian.
The jury were informed that the Man City player raped women inside locked ‘panic rooms’ in his isolated country mansion from which they believed they could not escape.
Mendy found many of the women in Manchester nightclubs, often with the help of his “fixer”, a 41-year-old man called Louis Saha Matturie, who is also on trial according to The Guardian.
Some of the women told police they had their phones taken off them on arrival at Mendy’s home. Ostensibly this was to protect the Frenchman and others from unwanted social media intrusion, but it also left them unable to call for help, the court heard.
The sexual conquest of women became “a game” to the two men and both continue to deny all 22 charges brought against them, reports The Guardian.
