Row over disclosure in Ronaldo case
LAS VEGAS: Lawyers for a Nevada woman accusing Cristiano Ronaldo of raping her nine years ago said on Wednesday that their client has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress and depression, conditions they argue would have made her legally incompetent to reach a nondisclosure agreement.
Kathryn Mayorga didn’t 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’’.
“I firmly deny the accusations,’’ he said. “Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe i n. Keen as I may be to clear my name, I refuse to feed the media spectacle created by people seeking t o promote themselves at my expense.’’
Ms Mayorga’s attorney Larissa Drohobyczer told reporters the psychiatrist’s recent medical opinion was that Ms Mayorga’s psychological injuries were “caused by Cristiano Ronaldo’s sexual assault in 2009’’.
The doctor, Norton Roitman, did not immediately respond to messages.
Ms Mayorga suffered several months of severe emotional stress and coercion by Ronaldo’s representatives to push her into taking a monetary settlement to keep quiet, her lawyers said.
“These i njuries rendered Kathryn incompetent to participate in the negotiations and settlement and nondisclosure in 2010,’’ Ms Drohobyczer said.
The argument previews claims Ms Drohobyczer and law partner Leslie Stovall would make when asking a judge to void the non-disclosure agreement that the attorneys say Ms Mayorga signed while accepting a US$375,000 (12.2 million baht) payment from Ronaldo.