Police

A FORMER Man Utd wonderkid raped a woman with his pal after a night out, a court heard today.John Cofie, 30, and friend Nathan Stuart allegedly attacked the woman when she was too drunk to consent.
John Cofie is accused of raping a woman with a palCredit: PA:Empics Sport
Sean McGinty, Paul Pogba, Sam Johnstone, Cofie and Jesse Lingard celebrate winning the FA Youth Cup for Man Utd in 2011Credit: Getty – Contributor
Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard how she had met the pair while on a night in Altrincham in April 2019.
She and a friend visited a few bars with Cofie and Stuart before her pal decided to go home, it was said.
Jurors were told the alleged victim was then seen “hanging off” Cofie’s arm and “slurring her words”.
She ended up back at Stuart’s home where she was allegedly raped by the pair.
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The woman was picked up by her parents at around 3am after they reported her missing when she failed to return home.
She was “incoherent” and “not mentally alert” at the time, it was said.
The court heard she had no recollection of the events and was later told by Stuart she’d had sex with him and Cofie.
She claims she may have been spiked as it felt “similar” to a previous experience as a teenager.
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The “distressed” woman was taken to hospital after she began “shaking and hyperventilating”, and was told the amount she drank couldn’t explain her memory loss, nausea, vomiting and headache.
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When she told Stuart how unwell she felt, he allegedly told her: “Well, you don’t think we spiked you?”
But when she questioned him further, he said they’d had sex and Cofie “was there as well”.
The woman then told Stuart she wanted to carry out checks with the police, causing him to warn her: “Forget it and move on”.
After Cofie and Stuart were arrested, they maintained she had consented to the sexual activity.
Jurors heard officers went through the pair’s phones and discovered Stuart had messaged his footballer pal advising him to “say nada”.
Stuart, of Northwich, Cheshire, denies two counts of rape while Cofie, of Sale, Greater Manchester, denies three counts of rape.
Cofie became the youngest million pound footballer when he signed for Man Utd from Burnley in 2007 aged just 14.
He played alongside Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard but left the club in 2013 when he failed to make the senior team.
Ghanaian-born Cofie then had spells at Barnsley, Crawley Town and Wrexham.
He also played on loan at clubs including Sheffield United and Belgian side Antwerp.
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After hanging up his boots aged 27, he worked at a school mentoring children for a football programme.
The trial continues.
Cofie, pictured at a previous court hearing, denies rapeCredit: CHRIS NEILL
Cofie had spells at 13 different clubs in his career More