Cristiano Ronaldo won’t be charged after a woman accused football star of raping her in a hotel suite in Las Vegas more than 10 years ago, said the main prosecutors of the city.
Clark County district attorney Steve Wolfson said he reviewed a new police investigation and determined that Kathryn Mayorga’s allegations could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt.
“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.
Ronaldo’s lawyer, Peter Christiansen, was not available for immediate comment. Christiansen said Ronaldo and Mayorga had consensual sex in 2009, but he denied Mayorga’s claims.
Mayorga’s lawyers, a former model and teacher, did not immediately respond to telephone, text and electronic messages.
The Associated Press does not usually name people who claim to be victims of sexual assault. Mayorga has agreed through his lawyers to have his name made public.
A lawsuit is pending against Ronaldo in a US court in Las Vegas where Mayorga accuses Ronaldo or his collaborators of conspiracy, defamation, breach of contract, coercion and fraud.
The prosecutors said they allowed the terms of a confidential financial agreement with Mayorga to be made public.
Mayorga’s lawyer Leslie Mark Stovall acknowledged that Mayorga had received $ 375,000 in makeshift funds after the meeting. He said the deal was made under the pressure of intermediary people trying to protect Ronaldo’s reputation.
Mayorga underwent a medical examination to gather DNA evidence shortly after Ronaldo assaulted her in June 2009. She again spoke to the police for the new investigation. The authorities obtained this year a sample of Ronaldo’s DNA through the Italian authorities.
Las Vegas police said the initial investigation was closed in 2009 because Mayorga identified her attacker as a European footballer, not by name, and did not specify where the rape would have occurred.
The investigation was reopened last year at the request of his lawyers, shortly before the lawsuit against Ronaldo.
