'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
What's the story?
Cristiano Ronaldo's legal team has admitted in court that the Juventus superstar had paid his sexual assault accuser, Kathryn Mayorga, an amount of $375,000 in a confidentiality agreement after she accused him.
In case you didn't know...
Last October, Mayorga publicly accused Ronaldo of sexually assaulting her in a Las Vegas hotel when he was on holiday in the US city in 2009. She further maintained that the Portugal international paid her $375,000 as part of a settlement and non-disclosure agreement after the incident.
Mayorga was believed to have reported the incident to the police back in 2009 but her refusal to disclose details of the crime led them to close the case. The former Real Madrid superstar has, since, vehemently denied the allegations and insisted that the encounter between the two was consensual.
The case was reopened by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on Mayorga's request in August 2018 but the District Attorney's Office decided against pressing criminal charges against Ronaldo in July this year, citing a lack of physical evidence on the accuser's part.
The heart of the matter
In response to the dropped charges, Mayorga's team had filed a civil suit against Ronaldo, whose lawyers argued that the case was beyond the statute of limitations and that they already have a binding settlement.
Legal paperwork emerged on Monday confirming that Ronaldo had made the hefty payment to the accuser. The motion reads (via CNN), "The insistence [Mayorga] was incapacitated or incompetent to file suit within the applicable statute of limitations is completely belied by the undisputed fact that she immediately reported the alleged Incident to LVMPD and within months, indeed made civil claims against Mr Ronaldo."
"The [agreement] made clear Mr Ronaldo disputed [Mayorga's] allegations and in no way conceded she was injured. To the contrary, the [agreement] stated in no uncertain terms that Mr Ronaldo was agreeing to pay [Mayorga] a sum of money in order to maintain the confidentiality of their dispute."
What's next?
As new details continue to emerge regarding the case, it remains to be seen if Ronaldo's legal team can get Mayorga's latest lawsuit tossed.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese ace will likely feature in Juventus' Serie A clash against Parma on Saturday.
