This archive report was first published on 24 July 2019.
Las Vegas prosecutors have closed the book on a decade-old rape case against Cristiano Ronaldo, citing lack of evidence.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson announced on July 22, 2019, that there was not enough proof to convict the football star.
“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.
According to reports, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department opened a criminal investigation in June 2009 after a woman reported a sexual assault. However, the case was closed that same year due to lack of cooperation from the victim.
It wasn’t until 2017 that the German publication Der Spiegel reported on the allegations, and in 2018, the woman, Kathryn Mayorga, came forward to identify herself and filed a lawsuit against Ronaldo.
Mayorga claimed that Ronaldo had hired a team of fixers to convince her into signing a $375,000 settlement and a nondisclosure agreement. Ronaldo’s lawyer, Peter Christiansen, maintained that the relationship between Ronaldo and Mayorga was consensual.
Ronaldo has consistently denied the allegations, stating in October 2018, “I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me. 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 will thereby allow me to await with tranquillity the results of any and all investigations.”
