Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Don't miss out on the big stories from Manchester's courts with our weekly newsletter Benjamin Mendy was a victim of a ‘cesspit of toxic gossip and toxic lies’ after news broke that he had been charged with rape, his barrister told jurors. Eleanor Laws KC made the comment during the closing speech at the trial of Mr Mendy, who denies seven offences of rape, a day after the prosecutor had branded the Manchester City player a 'sexual predator who had created a 'toxic' environment'…