Police report in Cristiano Ronaldo rape case almost made public by Nevada judge
A Las Vegas police report compiled a decade after a woman made a rape complaint against Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo almost became public on Tuesday, August 30.
According to ESPN, the complaint was made against the Portuguese superstar in 2009, but BBC News reported that the case was dismissed in June 2022.
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The report into the case nearly became public on Tuesday by mistake, before a Nevada judge backtracked and kept it confidential.
Clark County District Court Judge Jasmin Lilly-Spells decided to temporarily follow a federal court order to keep the results of the police investigation private.
A confidentiality agreement with the alleged rape victim and allegedly stolen records of attorney-client discussions between Ronaldo and his lawyers were also shielded from the public eye.
The judge has invited written arguments by September 6 from attorneys for Cristiano Ronaldo, the woman, Las Vegas police and the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper.
The judge has also rejected a request by Las Vegas police to rule whether the department could be sued by Ronaldo for damages if the records are released.
Cristiano Ronaldo rape case details nearly released
The woman, named Kathyrn Mayorga, went to the police after the alleged incident in 2009. However, police and prosecutors stated that the criminal investigation was dropped as she didn't identify her alleged attacker by name or state where the incident took place.
The sexual assault lawsuit filed by Kathryn Mayorga against Cristiano Ronaldo has been dismissed in Nevada.
The judge ruled the use of stolen and leaked documents by Mayorga's lawyer, Leslie Mark Stovall, tainted her case.
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Police reopened the case in 2018, but Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson declined to pursue criminal charges. He claimed that a lot of time had passed to prove the case to the jury beyond reasonable doubt.
As part of that ruling, the judge declared that several pending items were confidential, including an order keeping the documents sealed pending a hearing. Arguments took place throughout the day from all sides, until the judge ultimately corrected the error.
It is yet to be decided whether the documents should be released under Nevada state public records law. Miss Mayorga and her lawyers also lost a US District Court case challenging the validity of a $375,000 hush-money confidentiality payment in 2010.
Peter Christiansen and Kendelee Works, the lawyers of Cristiano Ronaldo, have fought a four-year legal battle to prevent the documents from becoming public.
Mayorga's attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, demanded that the documents be released before Ronaldo's lawyers took quick legal action to keep them sealed.