LOS ANGELES: Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo will not face any charges over an alleged rape in Las Vegas a decade ago after US prosecutors said Monday they did not have enough evidence to proceed.
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A district attorney in the state of Nevada said it would not prosecute the Portuguese soccer player because it “cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt” that a sexual assault occurred.
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Kathryn Mayorga, a former model, alleges that Ronaldo raped her in a Las Vegas hotel in 2009.
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The former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward reached a financial settlement with her one year after the incident.
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He has always denied allegations of sexual assault, insisting their encounter was consensual.
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The Clark County District Attorney’s Office said it had received a report from Mayorga – who it identified only as “V” – on June 13, 2009, reporting that she had been the victim of a sexual assault.
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Police could not conduct “any meaningful investigation” at the time because she declined to say who assaulted her or where it occurred, the office said in a statement.
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As a result, detectives were “unable to search for and impound vital forensic evidence,” and video showing Ronaldo and Mayorga together was lost, it added.
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Mayorga contacted police in August of last year to ask that the case be reopened, at which point she named Ronaldo as the alleged assailant.
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The case was reopened “in spite of the passage of over nine year,” prosecutors said.
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“Based upon a review of the information presented at this time, the allegations of sexual assault against Cristiano Ronaldo cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” prosecutors said. “Therefore, no charges will be forthcoming.”
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#MeToo movement
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Mayorga’s attorney has stated that she agreed to an out-of-court settlement to keep her name from going public, but was later inspired to speak out by the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment.
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Mayorga has also said that her emotional trauma at the time did not allow her to participate in the mediation process for the financial settlement.
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Neither Ronaldo’s nor Mayorga’s lawyers responded to AFP’s request for comment on the decision to end the investigation.
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The player has yet to respond on social media.
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In October last year, Ronaldo said he was “an exemplary person.”
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“I know who I am and what I did. The truth will come out,” he told France Football magazine.
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“And the people who criticize me and who expose my life today, who make a song and dance about it, these people will see.”
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The allegations have taken a toll on his life, and in particular on his family, he said.
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In January, a Spanish court handed Ronaldo a suspended two-year prison sentence for committing tax fraud while he was at Real Madrid.
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This was immediately reduced to a fine of 365,000 euros ($410,000), on top of another penalty of 3.2 million euros ($3.6 million).
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Ronaldo is widely considered one of the greatest footballers in the history of the game, having won the Champions League title five times – once with Manchester United and four times with Real Madrid.
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He also led Portugal to the Euro 2016 title in France.
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Ronaldo, who is based in Turin, is currently on Juventus’ pre-season tour of Asia.
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AFP
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