Court Tosses Suit Over Ronaldo Hush Money

Las Vegas judge says accuser's lawyer tainted the case
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 22, 2019 3:38 PM CDT
Updated Jun 11, 2022 12:35 PM CDT
No Rape Charges for Cristiano Ronaldo
In this June 8, 2019, file photo, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo smiles when he arrives to a training session at the Bessa stadium in Porto, Portugal.   (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

Update: A Las Vegas court has rejected an attempt to make Cristiano Ronaldo pay millions more in hush money involving a rape accusation in 2009, blaming the "bad-faith conduct" of the Nevada woman's lawyer. The judge decided she won't be allowed to refile the lawsuit, the AP reports. Leslie Mark Stovall's use of stolen and leaked documents describing attorney-client discussions between the soccer star and his lawyers permanently tainted the case, US District Judge Jennifer Dorsey ruled Friday. Our story from July 2019 follows:

Cristiano Ronaldo won't face criminal charges after a woman accused the soccer star of raping her in his suite at a Las Vegas resort more than 10 years ago, the city's top prosecutor said Monday. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said he reviewed a new police investigation and determined that Kathryn Mayorga's claim can't be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, the AP reports. "Therefore, no charges will be forthcoming," Wolfson said in a statement. Attorneys for Mayorga, a former model and schoolteacher, did not immediately respond to telephone, text and email messages. Ronaldo's attorney, Peter Christiansen, was traveling Monday and not immediately available to comment. Christiansen has said Ronaldo and Mayorga had consensual sex in 2009. He denied it was rape.

Mayorga has a lawsuit pending against Ronaldo in US court in Las Vegas that accused Ronaldo or those working for him of conspiracy, defamation, breach of contract and coercion and fraud. She says they 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 encounter. He maintained that agreement was made under pressure from "fixers" trying to protect Ronaldo's reputation; Ronaldo plays in Italy for the Turin-based soccer club Juventus and is one of the most recognizable and highly paid players in sports. The lawsuit seeks to void the agreement and collect at least $200,000 more from Ronaldo. (The criminal investigation was reopened last year at the request of Mayorga's attorneys, shortly before they sued Ronaldo.)

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