Las Vegas Prosecutors on July 22, 2019, declared that Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo will not face criminal charges over allegations he raped a woman at a Las Vegas hotel in 2009.
After reviewing a police investigation into the claims, Clark County district attorney Steve Wolfson said that there is not enough evidence to prove the allegations beyond reasonable doubt, and no charges will be filed.
“Based upon a review of the information presented at this time, the allegations of sexual assault against Cristiano Ronaldo cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, no charges will be forthcoming,” Wolfson said in a statement.
Kathryn Mayorga, the accuser in the case came forward with her story last year and had filed a separate civil lawsuit against the footballer in US federal court. She claimed that the Portugal star initially used “fixers” to stop her pursuing criminal charges, including paying her $375,000 to keep quiet. Ronaldo’s lawyer, Peter Christiansen, confirmed that his client reached an agreement nine years ago with Mayorga.
According to Mayorga, she decided to come forward with her story in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
Christiansen said that Ronaldo and Mayorga had sex but it was consensual. Whereas, as per Mayorga, she had initially agreed to kiss Ronaldo so that he would leave her alone but he eventually forced her into sex. “After he assaulted me, he wouldn’t let me leave again. He wouldn’t let me leave,” Mayorga told Der Spiegel in 2018.
Mayorga filed a complaint with Las Vegas police the day after the alleged assault in 2009, although she refused to name her assailant. On July 22, 2019, Wolfson said this meant that Las Vegas police were unable to locate any forensic evidence. He added that video footage of any interactions between Mayorga and Ronaldo had been lost.
Mayorga said after the alleged assault she was in shock for three months before ultimately deciding to draw a line under the matter by agreeing to a settlement. When she came forward last year Las Vegas police reopened an investigation into the allegations.
On the other hand, Ronaldo had denied Mayorga’s claims. “I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me,” he said in October 2018. “Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in. Keen as I may be to clear my name, I refuse to feed the media spectacle created by people seeking to promote themselves at my expense. My clear conscious [sic] will thereby allow me to await with tranquillity the results of any and all investigations,” he said.
