Manchester City Star Pleads Not Guilty To Eighth Count Of Rape, Other Players Named In Rape Trial

Manchester City star Benjamin Mendy Wednesday faced the court where he denied an eighth rape charge that allegedly happened while he was on police bail.

The 28-year-old, who is accused of 10 offences in total against seven women, appeared at Chester Crown Court to formally deny a final charge of rape, reported The Sun. The athlete is accused of eight counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and one count of sexual assault, and is due to go on trial on Monday. He allegedly committed the crimes against seven women between October 2018 and August 2021, and the latest count was allegedly carried out in July 2021. At the time, Mendy was on police bail after his arrest in November 2020.

It is said that one of the charges was also carried out on Aug. 23, 2021, which was just three days before he was charged. The French international is also accused of raping a woman three times in October 2020 at a mansion in Cheshire, and allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in early January 2021 as well.

As for his 40-year-old co-defendant Louis Saha Matturie, he is accused of eight counts of rape and four counts of sexual assault. They are related to eight women. BBC reported that both men remain on bail.

Mendy has made 50 Premier League appearances for Manchester City since joining in 2017, but was suspended by the club after being charged.

Meanwhile, jurors in Mendy's rape trial were quizzed on whether they knew five other players as they were told that they could be mentioned or be witnesses in the case, reported Daily Mail. Jack Grealish, Raheem Sterling, Kyle Walker, John Stones and Riyad Mahrez either play for or previously played for Man City. Their names were read to the panel of jurors at Chester Crown Court being selected for the rape trial.

The potential jurors, who were selected from a pool of 38, heard the list of people who may be witnesses or could be referred to during the trial. They were asked whether they had any connection to them or knew them personally. They also heard the names of the complainants and were asked if they had any connections to Manchester City, police forces or Manchester United before 12 were selected for the case.