Report: Cristiano Ronaldo's Rape Accuser Drops Lawsuit in Las Vegas
The lawsuit against Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo was quietly dropped last month, after his accuser filed a notice of voluntary dismissal to the Nevada state court in Las Vegas, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The accusations against Ronaldo made headlines at the beginning of the season, leading to a 15% drop in Juventus shares and prompting the star to vehemently deny any notion of wrongdoing.
Katheryn Mayorga, 34, filed a complaint against Ronaldo on September 27 of last year, claiming that she was sexually assaulted by the Portuguese international at his penthouse suite in a Las Vegas hotel in 2009. She went on to allege that while she agreed to a settlement at the time, she wasn't emotionally competent to participate in the mediation.
According to Bloomberg's report, the filing for dismissal didn't include any information regarding whether Ronaldo had reached a settlement with his accuser that led to the dismissal of the lawsuit. Neither Ronaldo's nor Mayorga's lawyer has issued statements on the termination of the saga.
Contrary to the report, Rafael Buschmann, a correspondent for Der Spiegel - the publication that first published the allegations against the former Real Madrid star - claimed that the saga is not yet over, it has just been moved to a different court.
"The case is not closed, it is just at a different court now. After it was not possible for Mayorga's lawyers to serve Ronaldo with the complaint, they filed it at a federal court," he tweeted.
The charges against Ronaldo were severe enough to lead his club Juventus to cancel their plans to participate in the International Champions Cup in the U.S. this summer, to prevent any risk that the Portuguese star would be questioned or detained by authorities.
In October, Ronaldo firmly dismissed the claims against him, calling them "fake news" on an Instagram Live video, saying: "No, no, no, no, no. What they said today? Fake, fake news. They want to promote [themselves by using] my name. It’s normal. They want to be famous to say my name, but it is part of the job. I am a happy man and all good."
His lawyer Peter Christiansen further commented on the matter, adding: "Once again, for the avoidance of doubt, Cristiano Ronaldo's position has always been, and continues to be, that what happened in 2009 in Las Vegas was completely consensual."
Ronaldo hasn't been the only football superstar to be accused of sexual misconduct, with Brazilian forward Neymar facing accusations from a woman who claimed he assaulted her in a hotel room in Paris.
Neymar denied the charges, claiming: "What happened that day was a relationship between a man and a woman, within four walls, like with any couple. And the next day nothing much happened. We kept exchanging messages. She asked me for a souvenir for [her child]."
