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A British court acquitted Mindy of six charges of raping four teenage girls last January
2 hours ago
Former Manchester City star Benjamin Mendy has been acquitted of accusations of rape and attempted rape of another woman.
Mindy, 28, faced charges of attempted rape of another 29-year-old woman who alleged he molested her at his home two years ago.
This comes after the French player was acquitted of charges of raping six women in a previous trial last January.
Mindy broke down in tears after being acquitted after a three-week trial at Chester Crown Court.
Deliberations took place among the members of the jury – which consisted of six women and six men – that lasted for three and a quarter hours before they reached the acquittal verdicts.
“Mindy can be released from the dock,” Judge Steven Everett said.
The footballer, whose contract with Manchester City expired this month, was also acquitted of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault in a previous trial that examined lawsuits brought by four teenage girls.
But jurors at that time failed to reach verdicts on two counts of rape and attempted rape, leading them to decide on a retrial.
Attorney General Benjamin K. CN Mendy “was enjoying parties at his home and at two of them, he took advantage of women among those attending those gatherings, at a time when wealth and fame made him a man to say no to.”
“10,000 women”
The first plaintiff, a 29-year-old student, told the court that she first met Mindy at a nightclub in Barcelona in late 2017 and had an intimate relationship with one of his friends.
She added that they kept in touch, and after a year she arranged to visit her boyfriend at Mindy’s house, where they stayed at home after everyone went out with other girls for a night out.
She continued her statement to the jury, claiming that the morning after that evening she finished showering and exited the bedroom bathroom, and Mindy entered without permission, wearing only shorts, and was clearly “sexually aroused”.
She claimed that Mindy grabbed her and tried to rape her on the bed, despite her repeated pleas for him to stop.
In contrast, Mindy told the jury that the two had been “flirting” during the night out, and the next morning he went to her room and they hugged each other on the bed.
He added that he told her that his friend did not mind when he asked him to have sex with her, and that she was very angry when she learned that.
Another plaintiff, 24, said Mindy took her phone, which contained “erotic” pictures of her, then took her to his bedroom and locked the door after she began asking him to return the phone to her.
She added that he threw the phone on the bed and when she tried to retrieve it, he raped her despite her assurance that she did not want to have sex.
She claimed he told her, “You’re too shy, don’t worry, I’ve had sex with 10,000 women.”
Mindy stressed before the jury that the women who filed lawsuits against him for accusing him of rape “were consenting to play in bed” in reference to having sex with him, denying all rape accusations against him.
2023-07-14 23:55:45
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