Cristiano Ronaldo’s lawyers ‘threatened his rape accuser with “public exposure and humiliation”

Cristiano Ronaldo’s lawyers threatened his rape accuser Kathryn Mayorga with ‘humiliation’ and ‘public exposure’ if she continued to talk to police, it has been claimed.

Mayorga accused the Manchester United and Portugal forward of raping her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009, reporting the incident to police and also suing the superstar.

The footballer’s lawyers handling the civil case warned her she would lose out on the settlement and she would be publicly accused of extortion if she continued speaking to cops, it has been claimed.

The claims were revealed in a court transcript seen by The Sun.

Ronaldo, 37, has vehemently denied Mayorga’s claims, saying that ‘rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything I am and believe in.’ 

Mayorga accused the Manchester United and Portugal forward of raping her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009

Mayorga’s lawyer Leslie Mark Stovall told US District Court in September that Ronaldo’s attorneys knew she was ‘vulnerable to a very powerful individual and she was frightened of publicity’.

Stovall then showed emails between Ronaldo’s lawyers seen by whistleblowing site Football Leaks.

He said: ‘What they did is they – and you’ll see it throughout the negotiations – “Well, if you continue to talk to Metro, we’re not going to continue settlement and we are going to publically (sic) accuse you of extortion, that you had consensual sex and that you’re now trying to extort money from this famous, well-known person.”

‘And she was terrified of that. And that continued to be repeated and repeated and repeated throughout their correspondence. There was a threat.’

Stovall said Mayorga then ‘complied’ and stopped talking to police before cooperating in a later investigation.

He said: ‘You can look at the investigative report from Metro and you will see she stopped speaking to them early on. Why?

‘Because she was threatened with public exposure and humiliation by defendant’s attorneys. And it’s documented in those e-mails.’

Stovall claims Ronaldo’s lawyers succeeded in delaying the prosecution, saying it was a clear case of obstruction.  

Ronaldo’s representatives declined to comment on the claims to MailOnline. 

It was claimed earlier this week that police investigating Ronaldo requested a warrant to arrest him, but the local district attorney declined to pursue the case. 

Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and his rape accuser Kathryn Mayorga (right) pictured on the night the pair met in Las Vegas in 2009 and the alleged rape took place. Las Vegas police had sought to arrest the soccer star, but the DA declined to prosecute  

In this June 2009, Ronaldo is pictured with Mayorga in Rain Nightclub in Las Vegas. The soccer star has denied raping the woman 

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department investigated Mayorga’s accusations, and an officer submitted an affidavit requesting that a warrant be issued for Ronaldo’s arrest for a sexual assault. 

According to a court transcript from a September 2021 hearing, reviewed by DailyMail.com and first reported on by The Sun, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson declined to prosecute, even though police ‘believed they had a case,’ Stovall, told the court.

‘What happened is when that was submitted to the district attorney’s office, Mr. Wolfson declined to prosecute,’ Stovall said during the September 17 hearing. 

‘He doesn’t say why he decided to decline and anything — any argument is just speculation. It was within the statute of limitations. 

‘The police believed that they had a case to prosecute for one count of sexual assault and the DA decided not to.’ 

Mayorga’s claims were investigated by the police twice – in 2009 and 2018. Wolfson reviewed the case again in 2019 and concluded there was not enough evidence to prove the rape charge against Ronaldo beyond a reasonable doubt.

‘Therefore, no charges will be forthcoming,’ Wolfson said in a statement in July of that year. 

Mayorga’s lawyer said in court Clark County DA Steve Wolfson (pictured) declined to prosecute Ronaldo, citing insufficient evidence 

Ronaldo is pictured with his girlfriend, model Georgia Rodriguez, who has stood by him 

The loved-up pair shared a passionate kiss on Valentine’s Day, as seen in this photo that Ronaldo shared on Monday on his Instagram page 

Mayorga accused Ronaldo of raping her at the Palms Hotel and Casino on June 12, 2009.

Ronaldo has maintained that the sexual encounter with Mayorga was consensual.

DA Wolfson said in his July 2019 statement that following the alleged rape, Mayorga refused to name her attacker, or tell police where the crime occurred.

‘As a result, the police were unable to follow investigative protocols for sexual assault cases or to conduct any meaningful investigation,’ the prosecutor stated. 

‘Without knowing the identity of the perpetrator or the location of the crime, detectives were unable to search and impound vital forensic evidence. In addition, video evidence showing interactions between the victim and perpetrator before and after the alleged crime, was lost. 

‘The criminal investigation was closed.’ 

According to The Mirror and the German publication Der Spiegel, Ronaldo, who has raked in more than $1billion in career earnings and is the third highest paid athlete in the world, according to Forbes, reached a civil settlement with Mayorga in 2010 for $373,839.

At the height of the #MeToo movement in 2018, Mayorga sought to scrap the original settlement. She is now seeking nearly $76million in damages and costs.

Ronaldo, pictured with his girlfriend and four children, has been trying to stop the New York Times from publishing Las Vegas police records related to the Mayorga case

Also in 2018, Wolfson said Mayorga contacted the Las Vegas police, asked to reopen her case from 2009 and named Ronaldo as her rapist.

‘In spite of the passage of over nine years, Metro investigated her allegations,’ Wolfson wrote. A request for prosecution was submitted to the DA’s Office on July 8, 2019. 

‘Based upon a review of the information presented at this time, the allegation of sexual assault against Cristian Ronaldo cannot be proven beyond a resonable doubt. Therefore, no charges will be forthcoming,’ Wolfson stated. 

Ronaldo’s girlfriend, 26-year-old Spanish model Georgina Rodriguez, has stood by him over Mayorga’s claims. The pair were photographed sharing a passionate kiss on Valentine’s Day.  

In recent years, Ronaldo, a father-of-four, and his legal team have been waging a battle in court to prevent the New York Times from publishing police files pertaining to the Mayorga case. 

The star athlete’s lawyers argue that the information was obtained illegally by the website Football Leaks and was a breach of attorney-client privilege.