Cristiano Ronaldo’s lawyer has denied allegations made by a German magazine the Juventus star raped a woman in Las Vegas in 2009.
The Portuguese is also seeking compensation from the magazine for “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.”
Der Speigel ran a story on Friday claiming Ronaldo met the victim named Kathryn Mayorga at a club and then raped her in June 2009 at a Palms Place hotel room in Las Vegas.
The 34-year-old claims she repeatedly told the superstar ‘no’ but he carried on and ignored her pleas.
He is said to have fallen to his knees and apologised afterwards.
Leslie Mark Stovall, Mayorga’s lawyer, claims the matter was settled with an out-of-court settlement which effectively silenced his client in return for $375,000.
Mr Stovall told the German magazine “The purpose of this lawsuit is to hold Cristiano Ronaldo responsible within a civil court of law for the injuries he has caused Kathryn Mayorga and the consequences of those injuries.”
The American victim claims to have had endured ‘serious breakdowns’ in the aftermath of the rape and blames herself for signing the document as much as she does Ronaldo.
Stovall believes her non-disclosure agreement should be voided since she was ‘too mentally and emotionally traumatised’ to fully comprehend what she signed.
In response, Ronaldo’s legal team (headed by media law expert Prof. Christian Schertz) are now seeking a substantial compensation package.
The Portuguese was a Manchester United player at the time, but was to complete a world record move to Real Madrid just a month later.
