Cristiano Ronaldo’s lawyer says rape allegation documents fabricated but Der Spiegel stands by reporting
German weekly magazine says it has ‘no reason to believe these documents are not authentic’ after Juventus star’s new Las Vegas lawyer goes on the attack
The German weekly magazine that first published the rape allegation against Cristiano Ronaldo says it has “hundreds of documents” that substantiate its report and there is no reason to believe they are not authentic.
Ronaldo’s new Las Vegas criminal defence lawyer went on the attack on Wednesday, saying documents cited in media reports about a rape claim against the Juventus star were “complete fabrications” and the encounter was consensual.
Der Spiegel magazine says “we have no reason to believe that those documents are not authentic”, adding “we have meticulously fact-checked our information and had it legally reviewed”.
In a statement, lawyer Peter S. Christiansen blamed reports about the 2009 encounter on electronic data leaks of documents that he said were stolen by a hacker from law firms and other entities in Europe and then put up for sale.
Ronaldo “is accustomed to being the subject of press attention that goes along with being famous”, Christiansen said.
But the statement called it “absolutely deplorable that any media outlet would support or advance such an elaborate and deliberate defamation campaign based on stolen, easily manipulated digital documents”.
The statement acknowledged that Ronaldo and Kathryn Mayorga reached a non-disclosure agreement in 2010 after their encounter in Las Vegas.
Mayorga’s lawyers, Leslie Stovall and Larissa Drohobyczer, did not immediately respond to telephone, email and text messages.
Some of the 33-year-old Portugal star’s sponsors, including Nike and video game maker EA Sports, have expressed concern about the rape allegation.
Mayorga, 34, a former model, filed a lawsuit on September 27 in Nevada acknowledging that she accepted US$375,000 to keep quiet about the encounter with Ronaldo in a hotel penthouse.
The lawsuit seeks to void the agreement that her lawyers say she signed under pressure from “fixers” trying to protect the reputation of Ronaldo. The lawsuit also seeks monetary damages of at least US$200,000.
“Given the breach of that agreement by the other side and the inflammatory accusations that have been lodged in the ensuing days, Mr. Ronaldo feels forced to no longer stand silent,” Christiansen said in his statement.
“To absolve any doubt, Mr. Ronaldo has always maintained, as he does today, that what occurred in 2009 in Las Vegas was consensual in nature.
“The documents which purportedly contain statements by Mr. Ronaldo and have been reported in the media are complete fabrications.”
Christiansen declined to comment further.
Drohobyczer said previously that Mayorga never wanted her name made public but became worried that she would be identified after a 2017 media report apparently referred to the encounter at the Palms Hotel and Casino.
In August, her lawyers asked Las Vegas police to reopen an investigation that had been closed in 2009 without charges.
The lawyers followed with the lawsuit about two weeks ago.
Police have refused to release documents, citing the reopened case, and have not commented about progress in the investigation.
Stovall and Drohobyczer have said a Las Vegas psychiatrist diagnosed Mayorga with post-traumatic stress and depression “caused by Cristiano Ronaldo’s sexual assault in 2009”.
The lawyers said she was “emotionally fragile”, out of the country and would not be interviewed by media.
The psychiatrist, Norton Roitman, has testified numerous times as an expert witness in state court in Las Vegas. His office issued a statement saying his role in the case does not permit him to publicly comment.
Christiansen replaced high-profile criminal defence lawyers David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld as Ronaldo’s legal representative in Las Vegas.
Ronaldo’s lawyer in Berlin, Christian Schertz, has refused comment about the rape allegation. He threatened to sue after Der Spiegel reported on the lawsuit, saying the article violated Ronaldo’s personal rights.
