A JUDGE dramatically recommended that a lawsuit against Cristiano Ronaldo by his rape accuser be dismissed last night.
The Manchester United winger, 36, who returned to Old Trafford in August, has fought off Kathryn Mayorga’s civil case – two years after a criminal probe against him was dropped.
His lawyers attempted to get the lawsuit thrown out, alleging her attorney got his hands on hundreds of pages of stolen correspondence between Ronaldo and his team.
The ‘Football Leaks’ documents were allegedly hacked from the Portuguese forward and his representatives, before being passed to her legal team.
US Magistrates Judge Daniel Albregts agreed last night and concluded lawyers for Ms Mayorga had erred when they got hold of stolen documents.
Peter Christiansen, Ronaldo’s lawyer, said last night: “We are pleased with the Court’s detailed review of this matter and its willingness to justly apply the law to the facts and recommend dismissal of the civil case against Mr Ronaldo.”
Ms Mayorga alleged Ronaldo had sexually assaulted her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009.
Her initial claim against Ronaldo was originally settled out of court in 2010. She received a £375,000 lump sum from the ex-Real Madrid footballer.
However, in 2018 she re-launched her civil case in a bid to have her initial settlement overturned. She argues the original deal was signed under duress.
She wanted £18million for “past pain and suffering”, a further £18million for “future pain and suffering” plus another £18million in punitive damages.
But Ronaldo’s legal asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed, claiming Ms Mayorga’s lawyers secretly gave stolen papers to police in Las Vegas, to try and get the case re-opened.
They claim lead attorney Leslie Stovall failed to disclose hundreds of documents relating to the police investigation, hacked by the Football Leaks site.
In his recommendation last night, Judge Albregts said: “The court cannot parse out which facts in the complaint come from Mayorga’s own independent recollection and those which come from the Football Leaks documents.
“There is no possible way for this case to proceed where the Court cannot tell what arguments and testimony are based on these privileged documents.”
The allegations of sexual assault against Cristiano Ronaldo cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Clark County District Attorney's office, in Las Vegas
Ms Mayorga’s representatives have 14 days to appeal the ruling. They were contacted for comment last night.
The Clark County District Attorney’s office, in Las Vegas, announced in 2019 that it would not prosecute him.
In a statement, it said: “Based upon a review of the information presented at this time, the allegations of sexual assault against Cristiano Ronaldo cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, no charges will be forthcoming.”
