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The rape lawsuit filed by Kathryn Mayorga in Las Vegas against Cristiano Ronaldo has been dismissed by a U.S. district court. The court cited "bad-faith conduct" by her attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, as per the Associated Press (via ESPN) and sanctioned them.
Nevada-based Mayorga took the Manchester United star to court to pay millions of dollars more than the $375,000 she received after alleging he raped her in Las Vegas in 2009.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey of Las Vegas released a 42-page order at the end of her ruling. She said that the use of leaked and stolen documents detailing attorney-client discussions between Ronaldo and his lawyers tainted the case beyond redemption.
Dorsey has dismissed the case and has also ruled out the possibility of the case being filed again in the same court. The AP reported that Stovall can appeal the decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
Here are some of the excerpts from the official ruling from Dorsey, courtesy of ESPN:
"I find that the procurement and continued use of these documents was bad faith, and simply disqualifying Stovall will not cure the prejudice to Ronaldo because the misappropriated documents and their confidential contents have been woven into the very fabric of [plaintiff Kathryn] Mayorga's claims."
She added that Stovall's bad conduct and the damage done to Cristiano Ronaldo's reputation from the same forced her hand to give harsh sanctions. She added:
"Harsh sanctions are merited."
The Guardian had previously reported that a Nevada judge had recommended the dismissal of rape charges in October last year. He cited the same reasons, of bad-faith conduct and the use of leaked and stolen documents.
Cristiano Ronaldo had firmly denied rape charges and breathes a sigh of relief now
Cristiano Ronaldo has always maintained innocence and termed rape as an abominable crime and was intent on clearing his name, as per his statement via a tweet in 2018.
As per details revealed by Der Spiegel in 2018, Mayorga and Ronaldo met at a nightclub in Las Vegas in 2009. Mayorga said she had initially agreed to kiss Ronaldo so that he would leave her alone, but the player eventually forced her into sex. Ronaldo's attorney in Las Vegas, Peter Christiansen, had claimed that the sex was consensual.
It was ruled in 2019 that Cristiano Ronaldo, playing for Juventus at the time, would not be facing criminal charges for the accusations (as per the BBC). Only the civil lawsuit filed against him had remained unsettled, which changed today.
The Portugal international is yet to make an official statement. We can expect one soon now that this case, which proved to be a blemish on his otherwise immaculate image on and off the pitch, has been dismissed.
