Ben Yedder: Footballer guilty of sexual assault given suspended prison sentence

Former AS Monaco captain found guilty of sexual assault and charged with two years suspended prison sentence.

Former AS Monaco striker and captain Wissam Ben Yedder was sentenced to two years suspended prison sentence for sexual assault while intoxicated on the evening of September 6. As a reminder, the prosecution had requested one year in prison. The 34-year-old footballer also had his license suspended for six months, received a fine of 5,000 euros and was also ordered to provide care and compensation to the victim, a 23-year-old woman.

The evening's events

During that evening, Ben Yedder allegedly met a group of five young individuals in the parking lot near a beach where he had isolated himself. The player subsequently dragged two of them, including the complainant, into his vehicle. After dropping off the first person, with whom Wissam Ben Yedder had apparently gotten along well, he continued on his way to his garage with the 23-year-old woman as a passenger. Present at the hearing, crying when it was time to speak and describe the facts, she only confirmed “clearly”  her first statements. Having moved to the back of the car, Wissam Ben Yedder allegedly first “caressedé her thigh inside" before masturbating while looking at her chest and trying to hug her.

She finally managed to escape and "hide behind a trash can". "I was scared because he was bipolar", she added. “When I drink, I'm not myself anymore, the former striker, now away from the field, defended himself. I really don't remember what happened", he continued, swearing that "without alcohol, it's impossible, &it would never come to me the spirit".