US Judge recommends Ronaldo rape case to be dismissed

U.S. Prosecutors have decided not to bring a criminal case forward against Cristiano Ronaldo following accusations of sexual assault in 2019.

A U.S. magistrate judge has recommended that the civil rape case against Cristiano Ronaldo be dismissed.

Kathryn Mayorga accused Ronaldo of raping her in a Vegas hotel suite back in 2009. The former model claimed she had signed a settlement of $375,000 (£287,000) from the Manchester United forward in 2010 for her silence. Vegas police added a lack of evidence convinced them to close the original case.

Almost 10 years later in 2018, however, Ms. Mayorga went public with her allegations. Ronaldo, for his part, has always denied any wrongdoing. Prosecutors couldn’t open a case against him, as they couldn’t find sufficient evidence to back Ms. Mayorga’s claims.

I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me. Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in. Keen as I may be to clear my name, I refuse to feed the media spectacle created by people seeking to promote themselves at my expense.

— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) October 3, 2018

Now, two years after the rape case went public, magistrate judge Daniel Albregts has sent a recommendation to U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey.

“It is recommended that Ronaldo’s motion for case terminating sanctions be granted. It is further recommended that Mayorga’s action be dismissed with prejudice,” read the statement.

“Dismissing Mayorga’s case for the inappropriate conduct of her attorney is a harsh result. But it is, unfortunately, the only appropriate sanction to ensure the integrity of the judicial process.

“Stovall has acted in bad faith to his client’s – and his profession’s – detriment.”

Ronaldo’s legal team respond

Ronaldo’s attorney, Peter Christiansen, praised the decision made on his client’s case in a brief statement.

He said: “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.”