*Warning this article contains content some readers may find upsetting*
A friend of former Manchester City star Benjamin Mendy has been cleared of all sexual assault charges against him.
Louis Saha Matturie, 42, from Eccles, was part of the former Premier League star’s friendship group and had been accused of “taking advantage” of three young women.
Both men were accused of sexual offences and had been on trial but were found not guilty of most charges in January after a six-month trial. But retrials were ordered on the outstanding charges the jury could not agree verdicts on.
At Mr Matturie retrial, which began last month, he was accused of two counts of rape and two of sexual assault, relating to three different women, aged 19, 17 and 22.
The 19-year-old woman alleged that she had been to a party in March 2021 and had blacked out after drinking alcohol and inhaling nitrous oxide balloons and woke up on a mattress in Mr Matturie’s bedroom at his flat in Salford with the defendant raping her.
Around a month later the 17-year-old claimed she had also been at Mr Matturie’s flat and woke up to him sexually assaulting and raping her.
In July 2021 the third woman, then aged 22, had been to a party at Mr Mendy’s £4.5 million mansion The Spinney in Cheshire.
The 22-year-old alleged that while there, Mr Matturie insisted she come with him to drive to a local shop to buy alcohol and on the way back he tried to kiss her and sexually assaulted her in the car.
He was found not guilty of all but one of the charges last week following a three-week trial at Chester Crown Court.
On Thursday (October 19) Benjamin Aina KC, prosecuting, said the Crown Prosecution Service had decided not to pursue a third prosecution after the jury failed to reach a verdict on the one outstanding count of sexual assault following the retrial.
Mr Matturie’s lawyer has also requested for his travel costs to be reimbursed by the court.
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