Cristiano Ronaldo's lawyers allegedly threatened to humiliate rape accuser if she spoke to cops
Cristiano Ronaldo's lawyers allegedly threatened his rape accuser of public humiliation and exposure if she continued to speak to the cops and authorities, according to court documents. Kathryn Mayorga had filed a complaint against Ronaldo, the Manchester United ace. She alleged that the rape happened in a hotel room in Las Vegas.
In early September 2021, when Ronaldo made his second Manchester United debut, he explained these rape allegations to be "fake news". He told FourFourTwo.com that, "It makes you feel so bad... The news, they speak about Cristiano Ronaldo, this and that. You listen to your kids coming down the stairs and you change the channel because I was embarrassed. I feel embarrassed."
READ MORE
Cristiano Ronaldo's DNA matched evidence in rape case filed by Kathryn Mayorga, leaked emails show
Another allegation that surfaced around this case states that the top-notch lawyers that Ronaldo has hired to represent him, in this case, threatened Mayorga. The lawyers told her if she continues to talk to authorities regarding Ronaldo, they would humiliate and expose her in public, according to a court transcript discovered by The Sun.
Mayorga's representative attorney Leslie Mark Stovall told the US District Court in September 2021 that the team representing Ronaldo had done a background check on Mayorga and knew her strengths and weaknesses. She said they knew Mayorga was "vulnerable to a very powerful individual and she was frightened of publicity."
Stovall also spoke of the emails between Ronaldo's lawyers that exposed the legal team "worked that angle" "What they did is they - and you'll see it throughout the negotiations - 'Well, if you continue to talk to Metro, we're not going to continue settlement and we are going to publicly (sic) accuse you of extortion, that you had consensual sex and that you're now trying to extort money from this famous, well-known person.' "And she was terrified of that. And that continued to be repeated and repeated and repeated throughout their correspondence. There was a threat." said Stovall.
Mayorga's lawyer Stovall said that her client complied with Ronaldo's lawyers but she also later cooperated with the authorities. He said, "You can look at the investigative report from Metro and you will see she stopped speaking to them early on. Why? Because she was threatened with public exposure and humiliation by defendant's attorneys. And it's documented in those e-mails."
Ultimately, this strategy by Ronaldo's lawyers was a success as it delayed the prosecution.