Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy charged with two more counts of rape

Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy has been charged with two more counts of rape.

Mendy, 27, now faces six allegations of rape in all after initially being charged in August with four counts of rape.

The France international has been in custody since his arrest in August after a number of bail applications were made but refused by judges.

Mendy is also charged with a single count of sexual assault, Cheshire Police said in a statement.

All the alleged offences relate to four women over the age of 16 and are alleged to have taken place between October 2020 and August 2021.

The statement from police added: “Cheshire Constabulary and the Crown Prosecution Service would like to remind everyone that criminal proceedings against Matturie and Mendy are live and that they have a right to a fair trial.”

Mendy, who is currently on remand at HMP Altcourse in Liverpool, is summonsed to appear at Stockport Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

A co-accused, Louis Saha Matturie, has also been charged with two additional counts of rape and one of sexual assault and now faces six rape charges in all.

Mendy was initially charged on August 26, with three counts of rape relating to an alleged incident in October 2020 and with the sexual assault of a woman in early January this year.

He was also charged with raping a woman in August this year.

The alleged attacks are said to have happened at his home address on Withinlee Road in Prestbury, Cheshire.

The left-back has played for Manchester City since 2017, when he joined from Monaco for a reported fee of £52million.

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

Mendy’s co-accused, Matturie, 40, of Eccles, Greater Manchester, also faces six counts of rape and one of sexual assault relating to four complainants said to have taken place between March 2021 and August 2021.

Matturie is also in custody.

Both men are scheduled to go on trial on January 24 2022.