Benjamin Mendy was acquitted of six counts of rape.

Benjamin Mendy, a Manchester City footballer, was found not guilty of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.

Following a six-month trial at Chester Crown Court, jurors were unable to reach verdicts on one count of rape and one of attempted rape.

The prosecution requested a retrial on those counts, which was set for June 26.

Louis Saha Matturie, 41, was also cleared of three counts of rape.

Jurors were unable to reach a decision on three counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault leveled against him.

Mr Mendy and his friend Mr Matturie were accused of raping women at the player’s home in Prestbury, Cheshire, and a Manchester apartment.

Prosecutors informed the jury Mr Mendy was a “predator” who made pursuing women for sex a game.

However, defense lawyers told jurors that while the trial, which involved money, sex, and celebrity, had “all the makings of a good drama,” it also had a significant “plot twist” – that the accused were innocent.

Mendy was acquitted, but he will never be free of accusations.
Mr Mendy covered his face with both hands as the jury foreman repeatedly said “not guilty” to the six counts against four young women or teenagers.

The jury of seven men and four women delivered unanimous verdicts on Wednesday, with one juror being discharged earlier for medical reasons.

The verdicts could not be reported until jurors finished considering the remaining two counts, after Judge Steven Everett gave them a majority direction, which meant he would accept a 10-1 majority on any verdict.
However, jurors were unable to reach verdicts on Mr Mendy’s alleged attempted rape of a woman, 29, in 2018 and the alleged rape of another woman, 24, in October 2020 after 14 days of deliberation.