Benjamin Mendy grabbed woman between her legs and asked ‘why are you angry?’, court hears

BENJAMIN Mendy grabbed a woman between her legs then asked her “why are you angry?”, a court heard today.

The Manchester City left-back is accused of sexually assaulting the alleged victim at a pool party at his mansion in January 2021.

Mendy is said to have forcefully touched the woman without speaking to her beforehand or saying anything as he did it.

In a police interview, shown to Chester Crown Court today, the woman claims the former French international questioned why she was annoyed then told her: “You look better when you smile.”

She told a detective: “I was just shocked. I was just taken aback by it.

“I was just shocked in realising what happened.”

Mendy is facing eight counts of rape, one of attempted rape and another of sexual assault against seven women.

He denies all charges.

Jurors heard the alleged offences took place on five different occasions at his home in Cheshire between October 2018 and August last year.

The woman told cops she was partying at Mendy’s multimillion pound Cheshire home on New Year’s Day when he carried out the alleged assault.

She said she didn’t know the footballer beforehand, but was with a friend who did, and at first they were “having a good time”.

But the woman described going up to a kitchen island at around 3am to get some food when she was approached by Mendy.

“I was just going to see what there was and that’s when he grabbed my vagina up my skirt,” she said.

“It wasn’t brief. It was like he was really trying to grab me.”

She said she continued drinking and kept her distance, but he later came “right up close” to her face told her she looked better when she smiled.

“I just thought, ‘right okay, well I’m not going to smile’,” she said.

“He said, ‘why are you angry?’ and I said, ‘you know exactly why I’m angry’.

“He then said, ‘why?’ and I said, ‘because of how you touched me’.

“That’s when he was apologising. He said he’s really sorry and he swears to god he didn’t mean to make me uncomfortable.”

‘I WAS SHOCKED’

The woman said at this point she walked away and she and her friends left the house at around 11am.

The court previously heard how Mendy allegedly asked police “how many stories like this do you have?” as he was arrested for rape.

According to an officer who went to the footballer’s house following an alleged attack in his “locked” bedroom during a party in October 2020, Mendy was “calm”.

In a statement, read out in court today, the cop said he asked player if he understood what was happening when he cautioned him.

Mendy allegedly responded: “I understand what you are doing, your job and stuff, but how many stories like this do you have?”

Jurors heard evidence from a woman who claims she was raped three times by Mendy in his “locked bedroom” during a party.

She said she repeatedly told the sportsman she did not want to have sex with him, but he said: “Well the door’s locked anyway”, and told her to strip down to her underwear.

The woman claims that after he had finished, he said: “It’s fine, I have had sex with 10,000 women”, before adding: “It’s a privilege.”

The court heard the alleged victim attended a rape crisis centre the following day and reported the incident to police several weeks later.

Mendy was then arrested at his “isolated” home – which has a “panic room”-style locks on some of the doors – on November 11.

His friend and “fixer” Louis Saha Matturie, 41, who allegedly helped find young women for Mendy and was present at parties where some claim they were raped, is also on trial.

Saha, of Eccles, denies eight counts of rape and four counts of sexual assault against seven different women – two of whom Mendy is also accused of raping.

Prosecutor Timothy Cray QC said Mendy will argue the women “consented to sex willingly and often enthusiastically” but he is a “predator” who “turned the pursuit of women for sex into a game”.

The trial continues.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk