Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Ronaldo rape accuser in mental fitness test
Model disputes £290,000 deal
A WOMAN who claims Cristiano Ronaldo raped her will have her “mental capacity” assessed to determine whether she understood the terms of a £290,000 pay off.
Kathryn Mayorga, 36, is trying to prove she was not well enough to know the 2010 settlement with the ex Man Utd star was not an admission of guilt.
She will appear before a Las Vegas court following a ruling by US district judge Jennifer Dorsey last week.
If she is successful, Ronaldo could be called to give evidence in open court.
Former model Ms Mayorga alleges Ronaldo attacked her in a Las Vegas hotel penthouse in 2009, which the footballer, 35, vehemently denies.
His lawyers say the £290,000 payment in 2010 was merely an effort to keep the story quiet. Police reopened the case in 2018 after Ms Mayorga named Ronaldo, but no charges were brought.
She then launched a civil case in a bid to overturn the non-disclosure agreement. Ronaldo’s lawyers had tried to stop her mental capacity being reviewed.
But Judge Dorsey ruled: “Mayorga did not comply with the correct procedure to request a jury trial of the mentalcapacity issue, so I direct the parties to prepare to adjudicate it in a bench trial.
“Because the proper venue for resolving Mayorga’s claims on their merits hinges on the mental-capacity issue, I deny without prejudice Ronaldo’s motion to dismiss them.”
She gave both legal teams until November 30 to get ready.
After Ms Mayorga filed her case, Ronaldo posted a video online saying: “Fake, fake news. They want to promote by my name. They want to be famous.”
He said in a statement: “I firmly deny the accusations. Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything I am.”