Benjamin Mendy was charged with rape, attempted rape and sexual assault
In the rape trial of Benjamin Mendy, the jury has been asked to question the accusers’ credibility.
Lisa Wilding KC, the defense attorney, emphasized actions by the accusers that were “inconsistent” with a rape allegation in her closing remarks. She discussed the testimony of one complainant, a 19-year-old girl who told the jury from the witness stand that she had been raped by Benjamin Mendy, 28, and co-accused Louis Saha Matturie.
However, during the 16-week trial at Chester Crown Court, evidence from her cellphone showed that she had “enthusiastic” sex with Matturie on the occasion when she claimed to be being raped.
The trial’s jury was told to acquit both men of the allegations made against them.
Ms Wilding said: “She sat in this courtroom and looked you in the eye and gave what would have, perhaps, been a compelling and convincing account of being raped multiple times by these two men.
“Like so many of the witnesses in this case, she is caught up in a tangled web of connections and contacts and knowledge.
She added: “Why is that important?
“Because of collusion. You have to consider in respect of each of the women who came to this courtroom to give evidence, is their evidence reliable? Is their evidence solid?
“This case rests on the credibility of witnesses. People lie.”
The defense attorney continued by claiming that two further complainants, who were acquainted with one another, had also made “remarkably similar” claims that Matturie had sexually assaulted them both while they were dozing.
As she drove to a nearby garage to pick up more booze for a party at the footballer’s house at 5.30 in the morning, Matturie, 40, allegedly raped another lady, 23, according to Ms. Wilding’s statement.
According to Ms. Wilding, she then spent the night in Benjamin Mendy’s house and had sex with three other guys. At 10.03am, she left the footballer’s mansion and texted a friend, “Hahaha I have slept with Jack Grealish.”
Such behavior, according to Ms. Wilding, is “inconsistent” with a rape claim.
She said that the circumstances surrounding this case were “inextricably linked” to those surrounding a 17-year-old who has accused Benjmin Mendy and Matturie of raping her twice on the same night.
Immediately after the party, she can be heard telling her pals in voice messages that it was the “best night of my life,” which Ms. Wilding claimed was “not a reflection of someone who has been raped.”
Benjamin Mendy enticed young women into “toxic and dangerous” circumstances where they were raped and subjected to sexual abuse, the prosecution told the jurors.
Near addition to his property, The Spinney, in Mottram St. Andrew, Cheshire, where he frequently hosted lockdown-busting events, they said the attacks happened in an apartment he rented in the heart of Manchester.
In order to get females back to the parties after nights out in the VIP areas of Manchester nightclubs, Matturie has been accused of acting as a “fixer.” Both guys insist that whatever intercourse they had with women was voluntary.
Benjamin Mendy has been accused of raping seven young women, trying to rape one more, and sexually assaulting one more. Matturie, a Salford resident, has been accused of raping six girls and sexually assaulting three others.
