Ronaldo accused of rape, lawyers issue denial

London :Portugal and Juventus FC footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has been accused of rape by 34-year old Kathryn Mayorga, according to German media outlet Der Speigel. The woman accused the renowned footballer of raping her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009 and then paying $375,000 for her silence.
Cristiano’s lawyer – Schertz Bergmann Rechtsanwälte – issued a statement denying the claims, according to another report in The Telegraph. Calling Der Spiegel’s report ‘blatantly illegal’, the lawyer said that they would be pursuing ‘moral damages in an amount corresponding to the gravity of the infringement, which is probably one of the most serious violations of personal rights in recent years.’
Mayorga spoke publicly for the first time claiming to have been raped after spending an evening partying with Ronaldo, while he was on holiday with his cousin and brother-in-law in Las Vegas.
Mayorga also described events following the incident that how Ronaldo fell to his knees and told her he was “99 per cent a good guy” let down by the “one per cent”.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner had earlier denied any such allegations and said that the sex was consensual. Mayorga’s lawyers are now questioning the validity of the out-of-court settlement agreed in Nevada.
Der Spiegel claims that the lawyer’s case is based on a document containing Ronaldo’s account of what happened where the 33-year old is quoted as saying “she said ‘no’ and ‘stop’ several times.”
Ronaldo, who is one of most famous sportspersons in the world, joined Juventus at the start of the season from La Liga giants Real Madrid.
Earlier, Ronaldo was questioned during his time at Manchester United in 2003, when a woman accused him of sexual assault in a penthouse suite at the Sanderson Hotel in central London on October 2.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)