Woman 'had no choice' before 'being raped' by Benjamin Mendy in 'locked' bedroom, trial hears
18.08.2022 - 21:11
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A woman said she was left with 'no choice' before 'being raped' by Benjamin Mendy in a 'locked' bedroom at his mansion, a jury has heard.
The 28-year-old Manchester City defender is accused of three counts of rape against the woman after allegedly luring her to his bedroom by taking her phone during a party at his home in rural Cheshire. He denies all charges against him.
Earlier today, a jury at Chester Crown Court heard the woman and her friends met Mr Mendy and two other men at a bar in October 2020 before being invited back to the footballer's house. While there, the woman said Mr Mendy accused her of taking photographs and confiscated her phone.
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She said he was 'agitated' and feared he could be 'fined' for hosting the party while Cheshire was under partial lockdown restrictions, the court heard. Jurors heard that Mr Mendy took the phone upstairs and the woman followed him in an attempt to retrieve it.
He went through a door, opened by a fingerprint touchscreen, and she followed him into a bedroom and the door closed behind them, she said. She told the court that she said to Mr Mendy: “Listen, I want my phone, I don’t know what you think is going on. I don’t want sex with you. He said, ‘The door is locked anyway’.
“He said, ‘Just wait a minute’. He then said, ‘If you just take your clothes off, I just want to look at you. I promise’."
She told police she thought getting undressed would be 'the lesser of two evils' and she would not then have to have sex with him, so stripped to her underwear then told him she wanted to go. Mr Mendy threw her phone on the bed and as she went to get it he approached her from