CHESTER, United Kingdom —
Manchester City and France footballer Benjamin
Mendy denied nine sexual offenses against six young women as he appeared in
court on Monday.
اضافة اعلان
The 27-year-old player
stood in the dock at Chester Crown Court and repeated: “Not guilty” as the
charges were put to him and he entered pleas for the first time.
The defender
denies seven counts of rape, one count of sexual assault, and one count of
attempted rape, relating to six complainants.
All the alleged
offenses are said to have taken place at his home address near Macclesfield,
northwest
England, between October 2018 and August last year.
Mendy entered his
pleas during a hearing on Monday ahead of his trial, scheduled to begin later
this year.
He will go before
a jury on July 25 along with his co-defendant Louis Saha Matturie, 40, who also
entered not guilty pleas to all charges.
Matturie denies
eight counts of rape and four counts of sexual assault, relating to eight young
women. His alleged offenses span from July 2012 to August last year.
After both
defendants entered their pleas, the hearing went into private session with
press excluded from the courtroom.
Mendy joined
Premier League champions City from French club Monaco in 2017. He has played 75
times for the club but his playing time has been limited by injuries and a loss
of form.
The last of his 10
caps for France came in November 2019, after the defender won the World Cup in
2018.
Mendy was
suspended by City after being charged by police.
Both defendants are on
bail.
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