MANCHESTER
\nManchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy has been found not guilty of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.
\nJurors could not reach verdicts on one count of rape and one of attempted rape, following a six-month trial at Chester Crown Court.
\nThe prosecution sought a retrial on those counts and it has been scheduled for 26 June.
\nLouis Saha Matturie, 41, was also found not guilty of three counts of rape.
\nJurors failed to reach verdicts on three counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault against him.
\nMendy and his friend Mr Matturie had been accused of raping and women at the player\u2019s home in Prestbury, Cheshire, and at a Manchester flat.
\nProsecutors told the jury Mr Mendy was a \u201cpredator\u201d who turned the pursuit of women for sex into a game.
\nBut jurors were also told by defence lawyers that while the trial, involving money, sex and celebrity, had \u201call the makings of a good drama\u201d, it came with a significant \u201cplot twist\u201d – that the accused were innocent.
\nMr Mendy covered his face with both hands as the jury foreman repeated \u201cnot guilty\u201d to the six counts, which related to four young women or teenagers.
\nThe unanimous verdicts were delivered on Wednesday by the seven men and four women on the jury, one juror having been discharged earlier for medical reasons.
\nThe verdicts could not be reported until jurors concluded considering the remaining two counts, after they were given a majority direction by Judge Steven Everett, meaning he would accept a 10-1 majority on any verdict.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MANCHESTER Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy has been found not guilty of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. Jurors could not reach verdicts on one count of rape and one of attempted rape, following a six-month trial at Chester Crown Court. The prosecution sought a retrial on those counts and it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":307297,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-307278","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n