Cristiano Ronaldo rape lawsuit not dropped, moved to federal court - reports
ESPN report that the lawyer for the woman accusing the footballer of rape has told them the venue for the legal charges has been shifted.
The lawyer for the woman accusing Cristiano Ronaldo of rape has told ESPN that the case has not been dropped, rather that the venue for the legal charges has been shifted. According to ESPN, Kathryn Mayorga, who accuses Ronaldo of raping her in 2009, has filed charges in a federal court in the US, dropping the case that had been filed in a Nevada state court.
Difficulty in serving Ronaldo with state lawsuit
The reason for the change is apparently simply because of “the difficulty that the lawyers have had in serving Ronaldo, who lives in Italy, with notice of the state lawsuit”, report ESPN.
"The charges were not dropped," Drohobyczer told ESPN. "The state case was dismissed by us because we filed the identical claims in federal court due to federal court's rules on serving foreigners. We basically just switched venues, but the claims remain."
It was widely reported earlier today, Wednesday, that the charges against Ronaldo had been dropped.
Mayorga suit against Ronaldo
Kathryn Mayorga filed a lawsuit in the autumn of 2018 alleging Ronaldo raped her in 2009 in Las Vegas and then agreed to pay her $375,000 to keep it secret.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s lawyer has strenuously denied the allegations, alleging that what occurred in Las Vegas was consensual.
According to the lawsuit filed by Mayorga, after the pair met at a night club Ronaldo invited the alleged victim and a friend back to his penthouse suite. Once there, say the court papers, he urged her into his hot tub, but she refused because she did not want to spoil her dress.
He is then alleged to have offered her clothes to change into and pointed her towards the bathroom. As she was changing, he purportedly came in and asked her to carry out a sexual act. She "refused and stated she wanted to leave the hotel suite," say the court documents.
"Upon leaving the bathroom, Ronaldo pulled the plaintiff into a bedroom and on to a bed and attempted to engage in sexual intercourse," the documents add. "Plaintiff refused... and covered herself in an attempt to prevent sexual penetration."
Ronaldo then allegedly raped Mayorga, despite her screaming "no", before saying: "Sorry, I'm usually a gentleman." According to court papers, the footballer confirmed that they did have sexual intercourse, but said that it was a consensual act.
Mayorga reported the alleged assault to the police the day after it occurred, but then negotiated a an out-of-court settlement with Ronaldo not to go public with her claims.
However, her lawyers now want to annul that agreement, which she says she only signed because she was "terrified of retaliation" and of "being publicly humiliated by being identified as a victim of sexual assault". She says she was left traumatised, and suffering from post-traumatic stress, "major depression" and suicidal thoughts.