Ronaldo’s DNA sought in Las Vegas rape investigation
Las Vegas police have requested DNA from international soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo after he was accused of sexual assault in Las Vegas.
In September, Metro detectives reopened an investigation into an allegation that Ronaldo, a 33-year-old Portuguese citizen who plays for the Italian professional soccer club Juventus, raped a woman at his Palms penthouse suite on June 13, 2009. A spokeswoman for Metropolitan Police Department confirmed on Thursday that police have submitted a request to Italian authorities for his DNA.
“The LVMPD is taking the same steps in this case as in any other sexual assault to facilitate the collection of DNA evidence,” officer Laura Meltzer said in a statement. The investigation is ongoing, and the department had no further comment, she said.
A statement issued Thursday by Ronaldo’s Las Vegas-based attorney acknowledged the request for DNA but called it routine.
“Mr. Ronaldo has always maintained, as he does today, that what occurred in Las Vegas in 2009 was consensual in nature, so it is not surprising that DNA would be present, nor that the police would make this very standard request as part of their investigation,” attorney Peter S. Christiansen said in a statement.
Authorities issued a warrant for Ronaldo’s DNA to see if it matches that found on the dress of his accuser, Kathryn Mayorga, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Requests for comment Thursday from attorneys representing Mayorga were not immediately returned.
Mayorga wanted to publicly come forward after documents about an out-of-court settlement were unearthed by the German magazine Der Spiegel in 2017, her Las Vegas attorney, Leslie Stovall, has said.
A lawsuit filed against Ronaldo on Sept. 27, which mentions the documents, accused his “team of fixers” of trying to “obstruct the criminal investigation and prosecution” of Ronaldo.
The complaint says that Mayorga repeatedly said no to Ronaldo as she was assaulted.
The settlement happened in Las Vegas after Ronaldo’s representatives threatened to falsely and publicly accuse Mayorga of attempting to extort money from Ronaldo, according to the complaint.
Stovall said Mayorga received $375,000 from the settlement, but that if a judgment was made in favor of Mayorga in the case, Ronaldo would receive a “credit” for the money.
Ronaldo has denied the accusations, tweeting in October that he “(refused) to feed the media spectacle created by people seeking to promote themselves at my expense.”
Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.
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