Benjamin Mendy‘s defense has urged the jurors in his rape trial to end his “absolute hell” by acquitting him of all charges.
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Mendy, 28, has not played professional football since August 2021 due to his ongoing trial at Chester Crown Court.
The Manchester City defender denies seven counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and one count of sexual assault against six young women.
Co-defendant Louis Saha Matturie, 41, denies six counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault relating to seven young women.
Eleanor Laws KC, who is defending Mendy, admitted his life in football “was over” in the UK but said none of the claims by the alleged victims were reliable.
“Look up Ched Evans, men who have been falsely accused, they never escape them.
Ms Laws insisted there would be “pressure” on the jurors due to the case’s media attention.
Prosecutors claim Mendy lured young women into “toxic and dangerous” situations where they were raped and sexually assaulted.
These alleged crimes are claimed to have taken place at a flat Mendy rented in Manchester and at his home in Cheshire.
Prosecutors allege Matturie was the “fixer” to get girls back to these properties after nights out in Manchester.
After Ms Laws’ speech, Judge Steven Everett told the jury Jimmy Savile had “nothing whatsoever” to do with Mendy’s case, as prosecutors had suggested.
He also urged the jurors not to feel “pressured or people will be chipping in”.
Some of you may remember the case of Ched Evans.
