It is a verdict with the taste of victory for Benjamin Mendy. After 505 days of investigations and legal proceedings, the former French international was unanimously found not guilty on six out of seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. The former Monegasque will still have to appear before English justice from June 26, 2023 for two last charges of rape, and attempted rape.
In the entourage of the player this verdict is perceived as a real victory “This is very good news, confides a relative of the player to RMC Sport. We never gave up and never doubted his innocence. “We are very happy for them, continues another friend of the player. It was stressful for Benjamin. You have to have a mind to overcome this trial and face all that. I hope the people who insulted him will now apologize. »
“I am happy for him, he will fight and show that the last two cases are also lies”, delivers a former teammate of Benjamin Mendy. “This first victory makes it possible to approach the June trial more calmly”, launches another of his relatives.
No reaction from the player before June
The decision taken this Friday by the Chester court is also, in large part, due to the plans drawn up by the one the Mendy clan nicknamed “the strategist”. Eleanor Laws, the player’s lawyer since the start of the trial, is appreciated by the Mendy entourage. “I think he owes him this verdict,” admits a friend of the player. Another of Benjamin Mendy’s lawyers, Jenny Wiltshire, issued a statement to the media in which she admitted that the player “can’t wait to clear his name of the other two charges so he can start rebuilding his life”.
Benjamin Mendy must remain silent and cannot speak to the media before the next hearing in June. This promises to be a difficult moment for the player and his lawyers who will, once again, be at the heart of media attention.