Has a skeleton burst out of Cristiano Ronaldo’s closet?
Kathryn Mayorga, a Las Vegas woman, accuses the soccer superstar of raping her in 2009 at the Palms Hotel hotel in Las Vegas. German newspaper Der Spiegel first reported the bombshell accusation last year, and its additional reporting revealed the existence of an out-of-court settlement between Mayorga and Ronaldo, which included a $375,000 payoff and an agreement by the alleged victim never to disclose publicly her accusation against the five-time FIFA player of the year.
However, the emergence of the #MeToo movement has prompted Mayorga, now 34, to renew her accusation against Ronaldo, now 33. She sued him last week in civil court, claiming he sexually assaulted her and that his legal team coerced her into signing the nondisclosure and settlement agreement under duress in 2010, PEOPLE’s Maura Hohman reported Monday, citing court documents. Mayorga wants to cancel the agreement and seeks an additional $200,000 in damages.
Hours after Ronaldo allegedly assaulted Mayorga in 2009, she went to a local hospital and reported the incident to Las Vegas police. She initially refused to identify Ronaldo as her attacker or where it took place out of fear of public humiliation, according to the lawsuit she filed last week. Mayorga and her lawyer at the time soon agreed to mediation with Ronaldo’s legal team, and the accuser didn’t follow up with police, according to CNN’s Emanuella Grinberg, Shawn Nottingham and Eliott C. McLaughlin.
Las Vegas police told PEOPLE on Monday they have reopened the investigation into Ronaldo’s alleged 2009 assault against Mayorga.
Ronaldo reportedly described Mayorga’s accusation as “fake news” Friday during an Instagram live post.
Mayorga’s new attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, blasted Ronaldo’s characterization of his client’s accusation in a statement he gave PEOPLE.
“Ms. Mayorga’s filed complaint, the physical evidence of her sexual assault, answers to written questions regarding the sexual assault attributed to Cristiano Ronaldo, the communications and conduct of the ‘team’ representing Cristiano Ronaldo, the circumstances surrounding the purported agreement for settlement and non disclosure, and the psychological injuries suffered by Ms. Mayorga are not ‘fake news,’ Stovall said.
Stovall explained later in the statement why Mayorga decided to break her silence last August, per PEOPLE:
“(She) wants to hold Ronaldo ‘accountable’ for his conduct, ‘prevent what happened to her from happening to other women,’ and further encourage ‘any victim of sexual assault’ to pursue legal action ‘no matter how famous or powerful they may appear to be.’ “
