As speculation swirls around the ongoing evidence-gathering rape investigation against Kylian Mbappe in Sweden, another similar case has rocked French football. Except, this time, we’re not talking about speculation, but a conviction!
Wissam Ben Yedder. PHOTO: Facebook
The former French international, Wissam Ben Yedder, who last played for AS Monaco, was sentenced to two years in prison with suspension for sexual assault by the correctional court in Nice, informs Agerpres.
In his October 15 indictment, the prosecutor asked for one year in prison and 18 months of probation against the 34-year-old, the second-highest scorer in AS Monaco’s history but without a club after his contract expired this week. summer.
Ben Yedder will appeal, contesting the classification of sexual assault retained by the correctional court, explained the footballer’s lawyers, Mes Hasna Louze and Marie Roumiantseva.
The player, who was not present at the sentencing on Tuesday, will have to pay 5,000 euros representing damages and interest, as well as a 5,000 euro fine for a traffic offence.
At the same time, being registered in the register of perpetrators of sexual assaults, the player’s driver’s license was withdrawn for a period of six months and he will be forced to undergo therapy.
Ben Yedder, 19 times selected in the French team (2019-2022), was detained on the night of September 6 in Cap d’Ail, close to the Principality,behind the wheel of his vehicle”, following a complaint filed by a 20-year-old woman, who accused him of sexual assault on the evening in question.
According to the 23-year-old victim’s statement, he allegedly alternated between gentleness and aggression, explaining that he agreed to get into the player’s car “of fear“, and he took her against her will to a parking lot in his area where he lived. The footballer would have started to caress her legs, while the victim tried to resist, and then he masturbated in front of her as he tried to pull her towards him, but the young woman finally managed to open the car door and run away.
In the summer of 2023, Ben Yedder was charged with ‘‘rape, attempted rape and sexual assault” in another file, paying 900,000 euros for release on bail.
Ben Yedder made his professional football debut at Toulouse, after which he transferred to Spanish club Sevilla FC in 2016, where he confirmed his potential. He returned to France in 2019, at AS Monaco, collecting 19 selections in the French national team, the last in June 2022.
In 2023, Wissam Ben Yedder was sentenced by the Seville court to six months in prison with suspension and a fine of 133,798.70 euros for tax fraud.
