Mendy has been moved due to 'fears over his safety'
Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy has been transferred to one of Britain's toughest prisons over 'fears for his safety'.
The Frenchman had previously been located in Liverpool's HMP Altcourse, which is a category B prison, but was moved to Manchester's Strangeways during the Christmas period alongside co-defendant, Louis Saha Matturie.
A source told the
Mirror that Mendy had been moved as a result of his case being high profile, saying: "Both Mendy and Matturie have been moved because their case is so high profile.
"That can lead to safety and prisoner management issues and it was felt Category A conditions might be better equipped to deal with any potential issues.
"The Prison Service has a responsibility to manage prisoners in the safest way possible."
Mendy has been charged with seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, and one source who is familiar with the ongoings in Strangeways - also known as HMP Manchester - said he is likely to experience difficult surroundings.
He said: "He won’t know what’s hit him coming from Altcourse, which is a privately run prison.
"It’s one of the toughest jails in the country. His other problem will be the amount of Man United fans in there.
"They will be screaming his name for weeks so he won’t be getting much sleep, especially as he’s charged with sex offences.
"There are a lot of Blues’ fans there as well, but even the most avid will struggle to protect an alleged sex offender."
At present, Mendy remains on remand, with a pre-trial hearing scheduled to take place on Friday (January 7) with his trial due to take place on either June 27 or August 1.
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