Rape trial jury told victim ‘looked blank and scared’
AWOMAN ‘looked like she had seen a ghost’ after allegedly being raped by Benjamin Mendy in his ‘locked’ bedroom, a jury has heard.
The Manchester City defender is accused of raping the woman three times at his mansion in Prestbury in October 2020.
He denies all charges against him.
Prosecutors allege Mr Mendy is a ‘predator’ who ‘turned the pursuit of women for sex into a game.’
Jurors have previously heard prosecution claims that the 28-year-old raped one alleged victim, Woman Two, three times after confiscating her mobile phone and luring her into his bedroom.
On Monday, a jury at Chester Crown Court heard from a friend of the woman, who was with her on the evening of the alleged incident.
She told the court that she, Woman Two and others had met Mr Mendy, his co-defendant Louis Saha Matturie and another man at a bar. She had never met any of the men before but said Mr Mendy and Mr Matturie were buying drinks for her group.
Mr Mendy was ‘flirting’ with one of her friends, but not Woman Two, she told the court. The group then went to Mr Mendy’s home.
Upon arriving, she said she and her friends were told to hand their phones in but she hid hers in her bra instead.
She described the house as a ‘mess,’ adding: “It looked like there had previously been parties.”
The woman told the court that she was sitting with Woman Two when Mr Mendy came over and ‘snatched’ her friend’s phone.
She added: “He was saying ‘I want to look at your phone to make sure you haven’t taken any photos and posted them.’
“She said she hadn’t.” Mr Mendy then walked out of the room and Woman Two followed while asking for her phone, the witness said.
When Woman Two failed to return within about 20 minutes, the woman said she went to find her.
She told the jury that when she found her friend upstairs, she ‘looked like she had seen a ghost.’
“She looked blank and scared,” she added.
The witness said Woman Two told her they ‘need to leave now’ but she did not question why as she also wanted to go.
It was not until the following day that her friend told her she had been raped, the court heard.
The court also heard from Dr Kirsty Beattie, a forensic medical examiner at Saint Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre, who examined Woman Two two days after she was allegedly raped.
Dr Beattie said Woman Two was ‘tearful’ and appeared to be ‘in shock.’
She said she reported having suffered bleeding to her bottom, although an examination found no obvious injuries.
“This can be a common finding so it could not determine whether anything happened or did not happen,” Dr Beattie said.
The doctor added it was possible that Woman Two suffered a small injury that was not picked up during the examination.
Mr Mendy denies eight counts of rape against five women, one count of sexual assault and one count of attempted rape.
The offences are alleged to have happened on five different occasions at his home between October 2018 and August last year.
Mr Matturie, 41, from Eccles, has also pleaded not guilty to eight counts of rape and four counts of sexual assault, relating to eight women.
●●The trial continues.