Las Vegas DA declines to bring charges against Cristiano Ronaldo for alleged rape
Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo won't face criminal charges after a woman accused him of raping her at a Las Vegas Strip resort in 2009, reports CBS Las Vegas affiliate KLAS-TV. The Clark County District Attorney's Office determined "the allegations of sexual assault cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt."
Prosecutor Steve Wolfson said no charge will be filed.
Ronaldo's attorney, Peter Christiansen, wasn't immediately available to comment. Christiansen has said the sex was consensual.
Attorneys for Ronaldo's accuser, former model and schoolteacher Kathryn Mayorga, did not immediately respond to telephone, text and email messages.
A lawsuit filed last September in Nevada state court was dropped in June. She has a lawsuit pending against Ronaldo in U.S. court in Las Vegas. It alleges he or those working for him allowed terms of a confidential financial settlement with Mayorga to become public.
Mayorga's attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, has acknowledged that Mayorga received $375,000 in hush money following the 2009 encounter. He maintained that agreement was made under pressure from "fixers" trying to protect Ronaldo's reputation.
The lawsuit seeks to void the agreement and collect at least $200,000 more from Ronaldo.
Ronaldo, who plays in Italy for the Turin-based soccer club Juventus, is one of the most recognizable and highly paid players in sports.
Mayorga underwent a medical exam to collect DNA evidence shortly after she says Ronaldo assaulted her in June 2009. She spoke again with police for the new investigation, and authorities this year obtained a sample of Ronaldo's DNA through Italian authorities.
Police said the initial investigation was closed in 2009 because Mayorga only identified her attacker as a European soccer player, not by name, and did not say where she claims the rape took place.
The investigation was reopened last year at the request of her attorneys, shortly before they sued Ronaldo.
