The Portuguese was back at Manchester United after 12 years, and straight away he managed to win Premier League PotM award, having scored three times in three league fixtures. However, a controversy that continues to loom large around him is the incident from 2009 in Las Vegas, where the forward was accused of having raped a model.
Ronaldo’s legal team had closed the case by paying a non-disclosure settlement fee back in 2009. However, the supposed victim, Katheryn Mayorga, decided to speak up about the incident in 2018. German investigative publication Der Spiegel leaked confidential documents surrounding the case, that includes transcripts of Ronaldo and Mayorga’s statements from back in the day.
The case resurfaced on social media after Ronaldo’s high-profile move to Manchester United. However, upon case reviewal by Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts, it is believed that the judge recommends the case to be dismissed and thrown out of court.
Albregts believes that evidence based on leaked communication transcripts should not be used in the prosecution. However, when Ronaldo’s lawyers stated that Mayorga’s lawyers had stolen papers which were investigative documents.
In response to that, the judge has mentioned that the case shouldn’t be dismissed because of Mayorga’s representatives’ behaviour, but he will still recommend Jennifer Dorsey, the U.S. District Judge, to dismiss the case, as it is the appropriate sanction for maintaining integrity of the judicial process.
According to the papers filed in the District Court of Nevada, Ronaldo’s legal team is pushing for the case to be dismissed as soon as they can. Even if the case gets dismissed, Mayorga’s team will have 14 days to object to it.
Whilst her team made no comments about the issue, The Daily Mirror had reported that she had demanded 56 million pounds in damage and costs. Originally, the initial non-disclosure settlement cost the Portuguese 375,000 pounds.
Ronaldo continues to stand firm by his word of not being guilty of this heinous criminal allegation. In 2018, he said:
‘I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me. Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything I am and believe in.’
