Former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy was found not guilty at a retrial Friday of one count of raping a woman and the attempted rape of another woman.
Mendy, 28, broke down in tears as the verdicts were given by the jury foreman following a three-week trial at Chester Crown Court in northwest England. He had stood for the verdicts but sank to his seat, his head on his knees, wiping away tears with a tissue.
The France international, whose contract with City ended on July 1, was cleared of attempting to rape a woman — who was aged 29 at the time — at his home in October 2018. He was also found not guilty of the rape of a second woman, aged 24, two years later also at his home address.
Mendy had denied the charges and said the incidents were consensual encounters.
The jury of six men and six women considered the verdicts for more than three hours.
Mendy was cleared by a jury earlier this year of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, relating to four young women or teenagers, following a six-month trial. Jurors failed to reach verdicts on two counts, of rape and attempted rape, leading to the retrial.
Leave feedback about this