Cristiano Ronaldo has a new criminal defense attorney in Las Vegas, Peter S. Christiansen, and he went on the offensive Wednesday, blasting media coverage of a rape claim made against his client. Kathryn Mayorga, a Nevada teacher and former model, alleges that the footballing superstar raped her during a 2009 encounter in a Las Vegas hotel.
Christiansen maintains that media reports of the 2009 Ronaldo-Mayorga encounter are due to 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.
Today saw Christiansen acknowledge the existence of the 2010 settlement, which included a $375,000 payoff and a non-disclosure agreement. However, he blasted the allegations made by Kathryn Mayorga as “complete fabrications” and maintained that the sexual congress between his client and the accuser was consensual.
“While Mr. Ronaldo does not deny the existence of the mutual agreement and release, his motivations for agreeing to that resolution have been twisted, to say the least,” Christiansen said in a statement.
“Far from any admission of guilt or any ulterior motive, Mr. Ronaldo was advised to privately resolve the allegations against him in order to avoid the inevitable attempts that are now being made to destroy a reputation that has been built upon hard work, athleticism and honor.”
Although Ronaldo has publicly denied the allegations multiple times, some of his biggest corporate sponsors have publicly expressed some concern over the two ongoing legal cases. Las Vegas police reopened the criminal investigation into the charges alleged by Kathryn Mayorga, who also filed a civil lawsuit against Ronaldo.
Mayorga is not doing interviews, and her legal team has not publicly responded to the statements made by Christiansen as of yet.
The civil suit seeks to render void the 2010 agreement and monetary damages of at least $200,000. Both Juventus and the Portugal national team have made public statements vouching for Ronaldo’s character.
“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 compelled to no longer stand silent,” Christiansen’s statement continued.
“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.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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