The trial of former Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy is “just another chapter in a very old story” of rape and sexual assault against women, a jury has heard. That’s according to prosecutor, Timothy Cray QC addressing Chester Crown Court, in north-west England on Monday.
Mendy is accused of eight counts of rape, one of attempted rape, and one of sexual assault. The alleged offences against seven women are said to have taken place at Mendy’s Cheshire home between October 2018 and August of last year.
The 28-year-old stands trial alongside co-defendent Louis Saha Matturie, 41, who Cray described as his “fixer” to help him find young women to abuse.
Both men have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Opening the case, Cray said it had “very little to do with football”, and was more about men who “think they are powerful”.
Mendy won the World Cup with France in 2018 and the Premier League title with Manchester City three times between 2018 and 2021.
The trial is expected to last over three months.
