In 2009, a woman accused soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo of raping her at a Las Vegas Strip casino. According to Las Vegas station KLAS-TV, the soccer star will not face criminal charges.
“The allegations of sexual assault cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” according to the Clark County District Attorney’s Office.
No charges will be made, according to prosecutor Steve Wolfson.
Ronaldo’s lawyer, Peter Christiansen, was unavailable for comment right away. Christiansen has stated that the sex was consensual.
Attorneys for Ronaldo’s accuser, Kathryn Mayorga, a former model and schoolteacher, did not immediately return phone, text, or email queries.
A case filed in Nevada state court in September was dismissed in June. She has a lawsuit against Ronaldo pending in a Las Vegas federal court. It claims that he or those working for him made public the terms of a confidential financial deal with Mayorga.
Leslie Mark Stovall, Mayorga’s attorney, has admitted that Mayorga took $375,000 in hush money after the 2009 encounter. He claimed the deal was reached under duress from “fixers” attempting to safeguard Ronaldo’s reputation.
The lawsuit aims to have the agreement void and for Ronaldo to pay at least $200,000 more.
Ronaldo, who plays soccer for Juventus in Turin, is one of the most recognizable and well-paid athletes in the world.
Mayorga received a medical examination in June 2009, shortly after she claims Ronaldo assaulted her. She spoke with police again for the fresh investigation, and investigators received a sample of Ronaldo’s DNA from Italian authorities earlier this year.
Mayorga only identified her assailant as a European soccer player, not by name, and did not say where the rape occurred, according to police. The initial inquiry was terminated in 2009 because Mayorga only identified her attacker as a European soccer player, not by identity.
Her counsel requested that the probe be reopened last year, shortly before they sued Ronaldo.
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