'Pure inventions': Ronaldo lawyer hits out at rape claims
A lawyer for Cristiano Ronaldo says quotes attributed to the football star regarding rape allegations against him are “pure inventions.”
Ronaldo’s new Las Vegas criminal defence lawyer went on the attack on behalf of his star client, saying documents cited in media reports about a rape claim against the soccer legend were “complete fabrications” and the encounter was consensual.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s lawyer has released a statement publicly affirming his client’s innocence regarding a rape accusation dating back to 2009 and claiming that multiple reported documents implicating the superstar were altered and/or forged.
The lawyer, Peter Christiansen, published the statement online through Gestifute, the sports agency that represents Ronaldo.
In the statement, Christiansen claims Ronaldo’s accuser, Kathryn Mayorga, breached a 2010 agreement by publicly coming forward with her allegations against Ronaldo. While there was no denial that Ronaldo had indeed met Mayorga at some point, Christiansen said that Ronaldo claims everything that happened that fateful night in Las Vegas was “completely consensual.”
Alleged statements from Ronaldo are ‘pure inventions’
One of the main points in Christiansen’s statements is that “certain media” have erred in publishing certain documents pertaining to Ronaldo’s case. That is almost certainly a reference to Der Spiegel, the German publication which reported the existence of Ronaldo’s settlement in 2017 and published Mayorga’s account last month.
Translated, the documents roughly state:
The documents that allegedly contain statements by Cristiano Ronaldo and were reproduced in the media are pure inventions.
By 2015 dozens of entities (including law firms) in different parts of Europe were attacked and saw a lot of information on their electronic equipment being stolen by a hacker. This hacker then tried to sell such information, having now a media outlet, irresponsibly publishing some of the stolen documents, significant parts of which were altered and/or completely forged.
Der Spiegel’s story in 2017 claims the obtained documents originally came from Football Leaks, a soccer-focused whistle-blower portal.
Among the documents Christiansen might be questioning is a private questionnaire filled out by Ronaldo for his legal team. The answers in that questionnaire, which was reportedly obtained by Der Spiegel, paint a disturbing picture of Ronaldo’s encounter.
From Der Spiegel:
In response to the question of whether Ms. C had ever raised her voice, screamed or called out, X answered according to the document: “She said no and stop several times.” And furthermore: “I [explicit] her from the side. She made herself available. She was lying on her side, in bed, and I entered her from behind. It was rude. We didn’t change position. 5/7 minutes. She said that she didn’t want to, but she made herself available.” And further: “But she kept saying ‘no.’ ‘Don’t do it.’ ‘I’m not like the others.’ I apologized afterwards.” The document quotes him as saying that she never screamed and never called out for anyone.
Ronaldo’s lawyers no longer dispute settlement is real
While the main focus of Christiansen’s statement is to support Ronaldo’s innocence and cast doubt on some of the public evidence against him, it’s also worth noting that he is confirming the existence of the original settlement in 2009, something Ronaldo’s team was previously slow to do.
Of course, agreeing to settle is absolutely not an admission of guilt.
Christiansen’s explanation for why Ronaldo agreed to the settlement, again translated:
What happened was simply that Cristiano Ronaldo merely followed the advice of his advisers in order to put an end to the insulting accusations made against him in order to avoid attempts, such as those now witnessed, to destroy a reputation built thanks to intense work, great athleticism and ethically impeccable behavior.
Unfortunately, it is now involved in a type of litigation that is very common in the United States of America.
Police have reopened Ronaldo investigation
Christiansen’s statement is one more volley as Ronaldo continues to publicly battle Mayorga’s claims that he raped her in a Las Vegas hotel room nearly a decade ago.
While Mayorga opted to pursue a private settlement rather than file criminal charges at the time, Las Vegas police have since reopened her case.
Jack Baer – Yahoo Sports US