Accused of seven rapes, Benjamin Mendy, released on conditions, is summoned on Wednesday for a new preliminary hearing.
Initially scheduled for January 24, this hearing will take place at the Chester court (south of Liverpool) at 12 p.m. French time. It also concerns the co-accused in this case, Louis Saha Matturie (40), a supposed member of the entourage of the 2018 world champion.
This preliminary hearing must also serve as preparation for the trial, scheduled for this summer, from June 27 or August 1.
Note that the Manchester City defender has not yet had the opportunity to plead guilty or not guilty to the alleged facts of which he is suspected. A request to drop charges, made by his defense, must also be examined during this hearing.
As a reminder, the former OM and Monaco player is targeted by seven counts of rape on four women and another of sexual assault on a fifth. Benjamin Mendy was incarcerated on August 27 in a private prison, and conditionally released last January.
The 27-year-old remains under strict judicial control, with “electronic surveillance with curfew”. British justice also requires the player to “live and sleep” in his home in Cheshire and he is prohibited from “contacting the complainants or witnesses involved in the investigation.
The acts of which he is accused were said to have been committed between October 2020 and August 2021 on young women over the age of 16.