Cristiano Ronaldo news: Juventus star's rape case not dropped but moved to a federal court, says victim's lawyer
What's the story?
The state lawsuit that was filed by Kathryn Mayorga against Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo last year has not been dropped, contrary to recent reports. Her lawyer, Larissa Drohobyczer, appears to have confirmed that the case is very much active and will be pursued in federal court.
In case you didn't know...
Ronaldo was accused of raping Mayorga in a Las Vegas hotel in 2009, after which he offered her $375,000 and forced her to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
The former Real Madrid forward has denied the accusations calling rape an "abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in".
Las Vegas police re-opened the investigation last year when the accusations blew up, courtesy of German media outlet DerSpeigel.
Last month, it was reported that Mayorga's legal team managed to track down the Portuguese footballer's residence in Italy and will be serving him the summons and complaint.
Juventus have vehemently defended Ronaldo after the allegations, even allegedly opting out of the International Champions Cup in the United States this year because of the fear that their frontman would be detained on arrival.
The heart of the matter
Amid reports that the case has been withdrawn, Mayorga's lawyer Drohobyczer has clarified that the case continues to be active and has been moved from the state civil court to a federal court.
Drohobyczer told ESPN's Sam Borden who confirmed the news on Twitter by posting a series of tweets on the matter. The posts read,
"UPDATE: The attorney for the woman accusing Cristiano Ronaldo of rape says that while the state court civil case against was dropped, their federal case IS STILL ACTIVE. 'We basically just switched venues but the claims remain,' the attorney told @ESPN."
"Essentially, the attorneys were having such difficulty serving Ronaldo (because he lives abroad), that they switched venues where serving rules are different. Also, the criminal investigation against Ronaldo is still open. In short, this was just some legal strategy."
What's next?
The investigation into the accusations is appearing to heat up and it remains to be seen how it wil pan out in the near future.