Cristiano Ronaldo loses bid to get £165k Las Vegas rape lawsuit dismissed or held in private as judge says case won’t damage reputation
CRISTIANO Ronaldo has lost a bid to get a £165,000 lawsuit by his Las Vegas rape accuser heard in secret or thrown out. The Portuguese footballer was accused of sexually assaulting Kathryn Mayorga in June 2009 but will not face criminal charges. She is now suing Ronaldo for £165,000 in damages – claiming the star […]
CRISTIANO Ronaldo has lost a bid to get a £165,000 lawsuit by his Las Vegas rape accuser heard in secret or thrown out.
The Portuguese footballer was accused of sexually assaulting Kathryn Mayorga in June 2009 but will not face criminal charges.
She is now suing Ronaldo for £165,000 in damages – claiming the star or people working for him allowed it to become public he had paid her hush money last year.
Lawyers for the Juventus ace argued releasing court records would “weaponise the allegations in this case”, risk public scandal and harm Ronaldo’s reputation and endorsements.
But a judge rejected the claims on Friday, saying “the cat is already out of the bag about Mayorga’s allegations”.
She continued: “I’m not satisfied that Ronaldo’s interest in holding Mayorga to her agreement is enough to justify sealing the entire record in this case.”
‘RAPE’ CASE DROPPED
Lawyers revealed last week they will “decline to prosecute” 10-year-old claims against the striker because the allegations “cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt”.
In June 2009, alleged victim Kathryn Mayorga called cops to report she had been the victim of sexual assault.
She refused to name her alleged attacker and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department closed the case after losing vital video evidence.
However, the former model last year named the Juventus star as the offender and the department reopened their sexual assault investigation.
The District Attorney’s Office suggested her refusal to identify him at the beginning resulted in officers being unable to “conduct any meaningful investigation”.
‘HUSH MONEY’
Ms Mayorga met Ronaldo – then a 24-year-old Manchester United ace – at nightclub in Vegas 10 years ago.
Footage showed them dancing in the VIP area of Rain nightclub – inside the glamorous Palms Casino Resort – where then 25-year-old Ms Mayorga worked.
Ms Mayorga claimed the £100million star then raped her in his luxury suite before paying her £295,000 in “hush money”.
But the 34-year-old football star has long denied allegations he attacked Ms Mayorga.
At the time they emerged, he Tweeted: “I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me.
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“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.”
The dad-of-four followed that tweet with a further message saying he had a completely “clear conscience.”
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