Benjamin Mendy, a Manchester City footballer, has been released on bail pending his rape trial.
Mendy, 27, was released after a bail hearing at Chester Crown Court on Friday. He was accused of assaulting five women between October 2020 and August 2021.
Since being detained and charged on August 26 last year, the French international has been held in detention for 134 days.
Judge Patrick Thompson granted release to the player, who had been jailed at HMP Altcourse in Liverpool before being transferred to HMP Manchester recently, at a closed hearing from which the press was barred while bail was considered.
The defendant was supposed to stand trial this month, but it has been postponed until June 27 at the earliest.
Reporters were permitted back into court after a discussion on bail between Mendy’s attorneys and the judge.
Mendy was given bail until his next court appearance on January 24, according to Judge Thompson.
Mendy was instructed that he had to live at his home address, not contact complainants, and relinquish his passport by midnight on Friday.
“OK,” Mendy said to the judge, dressed in a black suit and white shirt.
The defendant, of Withinlee Road, Prestbury, Cheshire, is accused of eight charges of rape involving four women and one allegation of sexual assault against five distinct women.
Matturie, 40, is accused with rape on six charges and sexual assault on one count.
The prosecutor, Ian Unsworth QC, told the court that Matturie was charged with one crime of rape and one count of sexual assault on Thursday.
On the new counts, he will appear in court next week.
As complainants of suspected sex offenses, none of the ladies involved can be recognized.
The decision on Matturie’s bail application has yet to be made.
Mendy has been a Manchester City player since 2017, when he moved for an estimated £52 million from Monaco.
After being charged by police, he was suspended by the club awaiting an inquiry.