What happens to Benjamin Mendy now?

Footballer Benjamin Mendy has been cleared of all charges after being found not guilty of rape and attempted rape. The World Cup winner wept in the dock as he was unanimously acquitted after jurors deliberated for about three hours and 15 minutes after a two-week trial at Chester Crown Court.

He faced a potential jail sentence if he was found guilty of the allegations, which were said to have been committed at his Cheshire mansion. The 28-year-old played for Manchester City at the time of the alleged offenses, but his contract has since expired.

The allegations were said to have occurred at his luxury home near Prestbury in October 2018 and October 2020. Mr. Mendy was accused of trying to rape one woman, known as Woman One in reports of the case, in October 2018 after she had been invited back to Mendy’s home by a friend of the footballer.

The morning after a night out in Cheshire, Mr. Mendy was accused of entering a bathroom as she showered before he tried to rape her in a bedroom, as she repeatedly asked him to stop. Two years later, a second woman known as Woman Two claimed she’d been raped by Mr Mendy at his home.

She had been out at a bar in Cheshire when she met Mr. Mendy and some of his friends. They invited her and others back to Mr Mendy’s home. Woman Two said Mr. Mendy took her phone off her after he noticed her using the device.

She followed him to try and get back her phone, arriving in his bedroom. Prosecutors claimed that Mr. Mendy ‘forcefully’ raped her as she struggled and told him no, the prosecution said.