The complaint of an American accusing the Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo of having raped her in 2009 in a hotel in Las Vegas must be dismissed due to irregularities, recommended a judge responsible for examining this civil procedure.
Judge Daniel Albregts believes the lawsuit filed in Nevada federal court by Kathryn Mayorga, now 37, is in part based on pirated documents from the “Football leaks” which should not have been in his possession.
In his recommendations, consulted Thursday, October 8 by Agence France-Presse, the judge accuses the young woman’s lawyer, Leslie Stovall, of having acted with “Bad faith” in this file.
“Dismissing Mayorga’s case because of the improper behavior of his lawyer is harsh. But it is unfortunately the only appropriate sanction to guarantee the integrity of the judicial process ”, writes Justice Albregts.
Even if the complainant changes lawyers, “The court will be unable to say how much of the case is based on her recollection alone or whether they have been influenced by the Football Leaks documents”, he believes.
Discontinued lawsuits
The lawyer for the footballer in Las Vegas, Peter Christiansen, welcomed in a statement that “The court wishes to enforce the law with fairness and recommends the dismissal of the civil complaint against Mr. Ronaldo”.
Contacted by AFP, Leslie Stovall and the other lawyers of Ms. Mayorga had not reacted Thursday afternoon.
The footballer has always strongly denied the rape accusations, claiming to have had a relationship “Completely consented” with the young woman.
For its part, the American justice announced in July 2019 that these accusations could not “Not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt”, consequently renouncing to prosecute the Portuguese athlete, who now plays for the Manchester United team.
In June 2009, the complainant had certainly called the Las Vegas police to report a rape, but she had refused to identify her attacker. The file was then closed.
Financial agreement
A “Private mediation” was organized shortly after with representatives of Ronaldo, resulting in a financial transaction in 2010: 375,000 dollars in exchange for absolute confidentiality on the alleged facts or the agreement, as well as the abandonment of any procedure.
For Ms Mayorga’s current lawyers, this agreement is null and void, in particular because of the psychological disorder of their client at the time and the pressure exerted against her. They are now claiming Ronaldo up to $ 200 million in compensation.
Judge Albregts writes in his recommendations “Found no evidence that Ronaldo or his lawyers intimidated Mayorga or prevented the application of the law” with this amicable agreement.
It was in August 2018 that Ms. Mayorga resumed contact with the Las Vegas police and requested the reopening of her case, publicly accusing the footballer for the first time.