Las Vegas Police Reopen Investigation Into Alleged Rape By Cristiano Ronaldo

In a statement to USA Today, Las Vegas police confirmed yesterday that the department has officially reopened its investigation into Kathryn Mayorga’s claim that Cristiano Ronaldo raped her in a Las Vegas hotel in 2009.

Mayorga first reported the incident to police the day after it happened, but has said that her fear of the international superstar’s fame and wealth, as well as the traumatic event’s effects on her emotional state, prevented her from naming him to police as her assailant back then. Eventually, Mayorga declined to press charges and instead initiated the negotiation of an out-of-court settlement with Ronaldo. The resulting agreement stipulated that Ronaldo would pay Mayorga $375,000 under the condition, among others, that she never speak of the incident again.

Mayorga upheld the terms of the settlement until recently, when she spoke with German magazine Der Spiegel in depth about the night she says Ronaldo raped her and its aftermath. At some point last month, Mayorga requested that police reopen her case with the new information she’s now willing to provide, and the department says the investigation is still ongoing. Because Mayorga reported the incident the day after it happened, Nevada law holds that there is no statute of limitations on when it can be adjudicated.

Though police never filed charges, Mayorga was taken to the hospital the day after the alleged attack, where a rape kit was compiled. The rape kit was never processed, as there was no named accuser, but it is still in the authorities’ possession.

Along with Las Vegas police’s investigation into the incident, Mayorga is also suing Ronaldo in civil court. You can read that lawsuit here. Ronaldo himself has called the reporting on Mayorga’s claims “fake news” and his lawyers have referred to it as “blatantly illegal.” Thus far, that is the extent of Ronaldo’s defense.

[ USA Today]