BENJAMIN MENDY OF MAN CITY FOUND ‘NOT GUILTY’ OF SIX COUNTS OF RAPE

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

Jurors at Chester Crown Court in northwest England were unable to reach verdicts on two other allegations against Mendy, one of attempted rape and the other of rape, and he was released.

Prosecutors have stated that they will seek a retrial on the counts on which the jury was unable to reach verdicts at the end of a months-long trial.

Mendy, 28, covered his face with both hands and rocked back and forth as the jury foreman read the verdicts in a quiet courtroom, according to the Press Association. Four young women or teenagers received not-guilty verdicts.

The jury of seven men and four women delivered unanimous verdicts on Wednesday. One juror had previously been discharged for medical reasons.

The verdicts could not be released until jurors had finished deliberating on the remaining two counts. The judge gave them a majority direction, which meant he would accept a 10-1 majority on any verdict.

The jurors were unable to reach a verdict after 14 days of deliberation.

Louis Saha Matturie, 41, a co-accused with Mendy as well as an alleged “fixer,” was found not guilty of three counts of rape involving two teenagers. The jury was unable to reach a decision on three counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault leveled against him by five other women.

Mendy and Matturie had been on trial since August 10, accused by 13 women of multiple sexual offenses. They all denied the charges.

Man City issued a brief statement in which it stated that it was aware of the Mendy verdict.

“Because there are outstanding issues in this case, the club is unable to comment further at this time,” City said.