French World Cup winner ‘told victim he would kidnap her’

Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy is on trial for several counts of alleged sexual assault

Manchester City and France football star Benjamin Mendy, 28, allegedly threatened to kidnap a woman before exposing his genitalia to her, a court has heard.

The £52 million ($64.5 million) defender was accused of displaying his penis to the alleged victim known as Woman One while she took a shower.

The claim comes as part of a wide-ranging trial against the player eight counts of rape, one count of sexual assault and one count of attempted rape against seven women between October 2018 and August 2021. One alleged victim was just 17 years old at the time of the offenses. 

Mendy denies the charges. Another man, Louis Saha Matturie, 40, is also accused of several counts of rape and sexual assault. He also denies the charges against him.

Read more

The trial at Chester Crown Court heard a pre-recorded statement from Woman One, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in which she detailed meeting Mendy in Barcelona in 2017 along with a friend of hers.

She subsequently traveled to the UK in 2018 to see Mendy and her friend, with the group visiting two nightclubs - and at one of those clubs, Mendy allegedly told the woman: “When he is not looking, I'm going to kidnap you.”

The next morning, she stated she was taking a shower in Mendy's residence when the footballer entered the room and “held himself in his private area.”

She explained that she tried to grab garments to clothe herself but that Mendy repeatedly kept her from doing so. 

“He kept forcing himself to see me and take off my towel,” she said in the interview. “I kept pushing him away to the point where he kept grabbing me back.”

Woman One added that Mendy also restrained her on his bed and resisted her attempts to push him away. He also removed items of his clothing during this incident.

“I was clinging on to my towel so it would not come undone,” she said.

“He was saying things like 'are you scared? You don’t have to be scared'.

“I kept thinking where are his friends? Why is no one here? Shall I scream? There’s no point.”

Read more

The claims from Woman One comes just days after the trial heard sordid allegations, including a claim that he attacked three woman in a single day at his secluded mansion, which prosecutors state was “part and parcel” of how Mendy and Saha Matturie repeated their attacks. 

It was reported that Mendy's home had special 'panic room' locks on several rooms, including the bedroom, which could have given women the impression that they were unable to escape.

“Two witnesses allege rapes in those rooms and felt they were locked in,” Timothy Cray QC said.

“Vulnerable, scared, isolated - these are words you'll hear from lots of the witnesses.

“Ask yourselves, as you get under the skin of what was happening, who had the power and control in the situations these women experienced and you will hear about?”

The trial continues for Mendy, who was part of the French squad which won the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

He has also claimed three Premier League titles with Manchester City, among other accolades since making the move to England from Monaco in 2017.