The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Ronaldo accuser was ‘legally incompetent’, argue lawyers
Depression and post-traumatic stress diagnosis for alleged rape victim
Lawyers for a woman accusing Cristiano Ronaldo of raping her nine years ago have said that she has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress and depression, conditions they argue would have made her legally incompetent to reach a non-disclosure agreement.
Kathryn Mayorga did not appear with her lawyers at a news conference in Las Vegas the same day that Ronaldo denied the rape accusations, using Twitter to say he had a “clear conscience” as he awaits results “of any and all investigations”.
Ms Mayorga’s lawyer, Larissa Drohobyczer, told reporters of a psychiatrist’s medical opinion, saying: “These (psychological) injuries rendered Kathryn incompetent to participate in the negotiations and settlement and non-disclosure in 2010.”
The argument previews claims Ms Drohobyczer and law partner Leslie Stovall would make when asking a judge to void the non-disclosure agreement that lawyers say Ms Mayorga signed while accepting a $375,000 payment from Ronaldo.
Ms Drohobyczer said on Tuesday that Ms Mayorga gave consent to have her name made public.
A civil lawsuit filed last week in state court also seeks monetary damages that Mr Stovall said could amount to more than the minimum $200,000 sought under Nevada state law.
Ronaldo’s lawyer, David Chesnoff, said police investigated Ms Mayorga’s sexual assault claim in 2009 and did not recommend filing criminal charges.
The civil lawsuit filed on September 27 in state court in Las Vegas alleges Ronaldo raped Ms Mayorga in a Las Vegas hotel and hired a team of “fixers” to pressure her to keep quiet.
Ms Drohobyczer said Ms Mayorga accepted the money then because she never wanted her name made public.
The civil lawsuit in Clark County District Court accuses Ronaldo or those working for him of acts of conspiracy, coercion and fraud, defamation, battery, breach of contract and negligence for allowing details of the confidential settlement to become public.