US Woman Files Lawsuit Accusing Cristiano Ronaldo of Rape
A woman has filed a lawsuit accusing Cristiano Ronaldo of rape, according to a new report by German weekly Der Spiegel. Kathryn Mayorga, 34, alleges that Ronaldo raped her in a Las Vegas hotel in 2009.
According to the filing obtained by CNN, Mayorga repeatedly screamed "no" during the alleged attack, after which Ronaldo is said to have apologized, "stating he was sorry, he was usually a gentleman."
After the alleged rape, Mayorga filed a report with Las Vegas Police and went to the hospital for a sexual assault examination.
Mayorga says she previously reached a settlement with Ronaldo's lawyers in 2009, signing a non-disclosure agreement and receiving $375,000. The new lawsuit is asking for the settlement and agreement to be made void, as it claims that the soccer player's legal team coerced her into signing it when she was in an emotionally fragile state. Mayorga's lawsuit alleges that Ronaldo told his team that "she said 'no' and 'stop' several times."
"The psychological trauma of the sexual assault, the fear of public humiliation and retaliation and the reiteration of those fears by law enforcement and medical providers left plaintiff terrified and unable to act or advocate for herself," the lawsuit states.
Ronaldo's lawyers have revealed plans to sue Der Spiegel over what they call "blatantly illegal" reporting. On Instagram Live on Friday, Ronaldo appeared to respond to the accusations: "What they said today, fake -- fake news. They want to promote by my name. It's normal. They want to be famous -- to say my name. Yeah but it's part of the job. I'm [a] happy man and all, all good."
Read the full Der Spiegel report here.
If you have been sexually harassed or assaulted, there are resources to help you. Donate to Rape Crisis here (UK) or RAINN here (US).