Benjamin Mendy: Manchester City footballer in court on rape charges

Benjamin Mendy is accused of four counts of rape and one count of sexual assault

Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy has appeared in court charged with four counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.

The 27-year-old is accused of attacking three women at his home in Cheshire between October 2020 and August 2021.

Louis Saha Matturie, 40, of Salford, also appeared at Chester Crown Court charged with four counts of rape.

Neither of the men were asked to enter a plea and both were remanded in custody.

They will next appear at court on 18 November and a trial date has been fixed for 24 January.

Eleanor Laws QC, defending Mr Mendy, said there would be an application to dismiss the charges at the November hearing.

The alleged attacks, on three different women including one under 18, are said to have happened at his home address in Prestbury.

Mr Mendy only spoke to confirm his name during the 45-minute hearing and winked to a man in the public gallery as he was led back down to the cells.

He was refused bail last month and is currently on remand at HMP Altcourse in Liverpool.

The France international has played for last season's Premier League champions Manchester City since 2017, when he joined from Monaco for a reported £52m.

He was suspended by the club after being charged by police, pending an investigation.

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