Benjamin Mendy, French footballer accused of rape in UK, released on bail – archyworldys

Accused of seven rapes and sexual assault on five women, footballer Benjamin Mendy will be released from pre-trial detention. Locked up since August, first at Chester prison, near Liverpool, then Manchester, he will be able to spend the months leading up to his trial at home, the British judge Patrick Thompson decided on Friday, January 7, during a hearing before the Crown Court from Chester.

The decision is not about the facts themselves. So far, the former Manchester City professional has yet to plead guilty or not guilty, which he is expected to do on January 24. His trial is scheduled to begin either June 27 or 1^er August, following the provisional timetable decided by the judge.

At this stage, it is essentially a procedural decision, which sought to determine whether Mr Mendy, for example, risks running away or posing a threat to the alleged victims. The hearing was not open to the press and the details of the judge’s reasoning are not known, but he imposed conditions: the footballer must stay at home, hand over his passport to justice and he has the ban on contacting the complainants.

In a few months, Benjamin Mendy went from the status of football superstar, world champion decorated with the Legion of Honor, to that of potential sexual predator.

Career up and down

The multimillionaire, who played in one of the most prestigious clubs on the planet, faces eight charges, out of five women “Over 16 years of age”, one of which is a minor. The facts would have happened in October 2020, January, July and August 2021. The identity of the alleged victims is not known, nor the exact circumstances of the facts.

Renowned for his party-goer and fun-loving side, Benjamin Mendy has had a checkered career. Born in Longjumeau in July 1994, the left-back started in Le Havre in 2011, before passing through Marseille and Monaco. In the summer of 2017, he seemed close to becoming one of the great players of his time. Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola spots him and breaks (a small part of) his piggy bank by buying it for £ 52million. Benjamin Mendy then becomes one of the most expensive defenders on the planet of football. The Spaniard wants to make him evolve very high, in offensive reinforcement, using his excellent left foot splendid centers.

But after two months, he seriously injured his right knee, breaking a ligament, and was almost absent from his first season in Le Mans. The next, after a few months of returning to the highest level, new injury, this time on a cartilage of the left knee.

Between convalescence, Didier Deschamps decides to take him to Russia for the World Cup, but he finally places him on the substitute bench, preferring Lucas Hernandez. Benjamin Mendy has certainly won the title of world champion, but evolving less than a half, against Denmark.

The footballer now faces a sentence of up to life imprisonment.