The French international defender of Manchester City Benjamin Mendy, accused of seven rapes and a sexual assault, was released and placed under judicial supervision Friday by the British justice.
The French defender of Manchester City, Benjamin Mendy, accused of rape, was released on bail and placed under judicial supervision by the British justice. Judge Patrick Thompson decided during a hearing at Crown Court in Chester (north-west of England) to release the 27-year-old, world champion in 2018, who had been in pre-trial detention since the end of August. His trial is not expected to take place until the summer (June 27 or August 1).
At the end of the hearing of the day, the justice therefore pronounced his release on bail. He will be able to get out of prison but will be subject to “strict” conditions and will have to appear again in Chester on January 24. He has been warned that an arrest warrant will be issued against him if he does not appear at this preliminary hearing, where his release will be reviewed.
He had been in pre-trial detention since the end of August
The former Marseille and Monaco player must also stay at his home and not come into contact with the complainants. Affected by seven counts of rape on four women and one count of sexual assault on a fifth, for facts which would extend between October 2020 and August 2021, he had been in pre-trial detention since the end of August.
The case started at the end of August when Manchester City announced the player’s suspension without further explanation. English justice then announced that Mendy had been remanded in custody after being accused of four rapes – including one committed a few days earlier, while on parole – and sexual assault, by three women including a minor . These first events are said to have taken place at his home in Prestbury, Cheshire.
At the end of August, the left side had been imprisoned at the Altcourse prison in Liverpool, before being transferred before Christmas to Strangeways, in Manchester, reputed to be one of the hardest prisons in Great Britain.
The maximum penalty he incurs, if he pleads not guilty, is life imprisonment.