Second woman accuses Ronaldo of sexual attack
THE lawyer representing a teacher who cl ai ms she was raped by Cristiano Ronaldo has told The Mail on Sunday that he has been contacted by another women alleging she also was sexually assaulted by the footballer.
Leslie Stovall, who is acting for former model Kathryn Mayorga, who made the first accusation, said: ‘I have had a call from a woman who claims to have had a similar experience.’
He declined to name the American woman, but said he would hand her details to Las Vegas police who have reopened the 2009 case of alleged rape brought by Ms Mayorga.
Juventus star Ronaldo, 33, who previously played for Manchester United and Real Madrid, has strenuously denied all allegations of rape and sexual assault. He last week described Ms Mayorga’s accusation as ‘fake news’, adding in a tweet: ‘Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in.’
The allegations threaten a string of lucrative sponsorship and marketing deals – and Ronaldo’s freedom.
Nike, with whom he has a reported $1 billion lifetime deal, last week said it was ‘deeply concerned’. The sportswear giant’s shares fell when the rape allegation became public.
Ms Mayorga, 34, met the footballer in a nightclub in June 2009. She claims he invited her to his penthouse suite at the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and raped her.
She reported the attack to police, but the investigation was abandoned and Ms Mayorga reached a £287,000 settlement with Ronaldo in 2010 in exchange for her silence.
Court papers obtained by The Mail on Sunday detail how lawyers for Ms Mayorga are seeking to overturn the settlement because they claim she was ‘bullied’ into signing it.
The documents alleged that in a leaked questionnaire completed by Ronaldo and sent to his lawyers, he admits to the assault, saying: ‘She said “no” and “stop” several times.’
Police in Las Vegas have admitted that some evidence, including the dress and underwear worn by Ms Mayorga on the night of the alleged rape, have gone missing. Mr Stovall also revealed that he is sending material and documents allegedly incriminating Ronaldo to Robert Buckland, the Solicitor General, and to the Metropolitan Police.
Two women claimed they were raped by Ronaldo and a friend in the penthouse of London’s Sanderson hotel in 2005, but police abandoned the investigation when one of the women recanted her story.
Ronaldo also denies those claims, but a number of MPs and women’s rights activists want police to reopen that inquiry.