Cristiano Ronaldo’s lawyers on Friday, 28 September, confirmed that they would be suing the German magazine, Der Spiegel, that first carried claims of the footballer allegedly raping an American woman in Las Vegas in 2009 and buying her silence later on the same.
The football star, according to the report by Der Spiegel, raped Kathryn Mayorga and then paid $375,000 for her to keep quiet. The validity of the out-of-court settlement is now questioned by Mayorga’s lawyers in the state of Nevada. Mayorga's lawyer's claim relies in part on a document, which includes Ronaldo's description of what happened that night. In that document, the soccer player is quoted as saying: "She said no and stop several times."
Ronaldo’s lawyer Christian Schertz in a statement said that the report was “an inadmissible reporting of suspicions in the area of privacy,” and that he would be seeking legal redress for his client.
Mayorga has spoken publicly for the first time after nine years. According to her, following the incident, Ronaldo asked her if she was in pain, “By this time, he’s (…) on his knees. He says the 99 percent thing.” He insisted, Mayorga added, that he was a “good guy” except for the “one percent.”
“The purpose of this lawsuit is to hold Cristiano Ronaldo responsible within a civil court of law for the injuries he has caused Kathryn Mayorga and the consequences of those injuries.”Mayorga’s lawyer Leslie Mark Stovall told Der Spiegel
Stovall, in a video published online by the magazine, said “Kathryn was sexually assaulted in June, 2009, by an individual named Cristiano Ronaldo,”, as reported by The Globe and Mail.
Mayorga told Der Spiegel she does not feel bound by the non-disclosure agreement anymore, as she suffers from the consequences of the night nine years ago.
“I’ve had like these serious breakdowns.” said Mayorga. “And again, blaming of the rape. And I blame him, and I blame myself for signing that thing.” she added. Her lawyer said that he had filed a civil complaint seeking to declare the non-disclosure agreement void.
The agency representing Ronaldo didn’t divulge on the claims made by the newspaper report, according to The Globe and Mail.
The magazine’s deputy editor-in-chief Alfred Weinzierl told Reuters that Der Spiegel had repeatedly written to Ronaldo’s management and lawyers about the allegations before publishing its report.
Schertz said he would seek compensation from Der Spiegel for “moral damages in an amount corresponding to the gravity of the infringement, which is probably one of the most serious violations of personal rights in recent years.”
Ronaldo was accused of rape one-and-a-half years ago, also reported by the German outlet, but has maintained his innoncence since.
(With inputs from The Globe and Mail)
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