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LAS VEGAS – Cristiano Ronaldo’s lawyers have filed court documents following a judge’s decision not to dismiss or keep completely secret a lawsuit by a Nevada woman who accuses the Portuguese soccer star of raping her in 2009.
Partially blacked-out pleadings submitted Tuesday in U.S. District Court revealed no new information, and lawyers for Ronaldo’s accuser, Kathryn Mayorga, did not immediately respond Wednesday to messages.
Ronaldo’s attorney, Peter Christiansen, declined to comment.
The documents had been filed in June but withheld from public view as part of Mayorga’s lawsuit alleging that Ronaldo or his associates allowed word to become public last year of a $375,000 hush-money settlement with Mayorga in 2010.
The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they are victims of sexual assault, but Mayorga gave consent through her lawyers, Leslie Mark Stovall and Larissa Drohobyczer, to make her name public.
Ronaldo’s attorneys say their client and Mayorga had consensual sex in June 2009 in his suite at a Las Vegas casino hotel.
Las Vegas police reopened an investigation of the sex assault allegation last year, at the request of Mayorga’s attorneys. Police said the case had been closed shortly after Mayorga reported it in June 2018 because she identified her alleged attacker only as a European soccer player and wouldn’t say where it took place.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson decided in June there was not enough evidence to prove the case at trial beyond reasonable doubt. He declined to file criminal charges.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey ruled last week the original 2010 settlement was confidential and not open to public view.
But the judge rejected Ronaldo’s attorneys’ claims that releasing other court filings would “promote public scandal … gratify private spite” and threaten Ronaldo’s endorsement deals.
Ronaldo is one of the most recognizable and highly paid players in sports. He plays in Italy for the Turin-based soccer club Juventus and captains his home country team from Portugal.
His sponsors include Nike and video game maker EA Sports.
Ken Ritter, The Associated Press
