Cristiano Ronaldo ‘hired detectives to spy on rape accuser Kathryn Mayorga and dig up dirt’ as lawyers ‘pressured police to drop case’
THE Las Vegas model who has accused Cristiano Ronaldo of raping her claims the superstar footballer hired investigators to spy on her in a bid to smear her name.
In bombshell court papers Kathryn Mayorga, 34, claims the Juventus frontman, 33, used a team of “reputation protection specialists” to “prevent or delay” the criminal probe into the alleged attack.
The £100million Portuguese star strongly denies the claims made in the explosive documents filed by his accuser’s lawyers.
Model-turned teacher Mayorga took legal action in 2010 - reportedly receiving a settlement of £287,000 - over the alleged assault at the Palms Casino Resort suite a year earlier.
The alleged group of “fixers” included a private detective who allegedly followed her around Sin City in a bid to try to prove she was not suffering from emotional distress following the alleged rape.
In an interview with Der Speigel, Mayorga claims she once noticed a man following her in a car and taking notes while she was out with friends in Vegas.
She said: “There was an investigator looking at us and writing notes down.
“We were laughing, like: ‘Could you make it obvious.’ He was just looking at us and writing.”
Lawyers for Ronaldo have threatened to sue Der Spiegel over the “blatantly illegal” claims.
Investigators allegedly working for the millionaire athlete also uncovered the former model’s felony record for parking tickets and spent hours sat outside her home while digging into her background, the court papers allege.
Her father Larry Mayorga, 64, a retired firefighter, said that he was afraid for his daughter’s safety at the time and decided to give her boxing lessons, according to reports.
He said: “Working out, (teaching) her how to punch, stuff like that.”
The court papers claim that Ronaldo’s team allegedly used a “confidential source” within the Las Vegas police department to find out more information about the investigation into the alleged rape.
There are claims they found that the alleged attack was not being treated as a “violent crime” and instead was being classed as “harassment”, which would put the case on the “back burner”, the court documents claim.
Their alleged mole inside the Vegas police allegedly told the footballer’s team that they would “happily” drop the case if a settlement was reached between the two parties.
We have contacted Ronaldo's representatives for comment.
Yesterday it emerged that Las Vegas police have re-opened the investigation into the alleged sexual assault.
Mayorga's lawyers are now trying to overturn the 2010 settlement and she has spoken out for the first time.
The court documents detail the alleged attack, stating: “Cristiano Ronaldo pulled the plaintiff into a bedroom and on to a bed and attempted to engage in sexual intercourse.”
It said the plaintiff refused, tried to cover herself and was screaming: “No, no, no”.
It adds: “When Cristiano Ronaldo completed the sexual assault, he allowed her to leave the bedroom stating he was sorry, he was usually a gentleman.”
The alleged rape is said to have happened in the early hours of June 13, 2009.
At the time of the alleged attack, Ronaldo, then 24, was in Las Vegas on holiday with his brother-in-law and cousin.
Budding model Ms Mayorga, then 25, was working in Rain nightclub, inside the Palms Casino Resort and met the star in the venue’s VIP area.
Paparazzi pictures showed the pair chatting, before he invited her and a friend to his penthouse suite — room 57306 at the Palms — “to enjoy the view of the Las Vegas Strip”.
The luxurious suite featured a Jacuzzi on the balcony.
Ms Mayorga claims she refused to get into the hot tub because she did not want to ruin her dress.
She said Ronaldo offered her some clothes to wear and told her to change in a bathroom.
The court papers claim that while she was changing, Ronaldo walked in, exposed himself, and asked her to perform a sex act.
In an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel, Ms Mayorga said: “This guy that is so famous and so hot . . . he’s a frickin’ loser and a creep.”
She said she refused to engage in the sex act, but kissed him after he promised he would let her go.
Ms Mayorga recalled: “He starts to come on to me very strong.
“And he starts to do stuff to me and touch me and grab me. I pushed him away and kept saying, ‘No’.”
She stated that, a short time later, Ronaldo pulled her into a bedroom and raped her while she cried: “No, no, no”.
Ms Mayorga went to the Las Vegas Police Department later that day and was examined in hospital.
Evidence of the alleged rape was documented and photographed.
She later hired a lawyer and in 2010 negotiated a £287,000 out-of-court settlement.
Mr Stovall told Der Spiegel: “The purpose of this lawsuit is to hold Cristiano Ronaldo responsible within a civil court of law for the injuries he has caused Kathryn Mayorga and the consequences of those injuries.”
Ms Mayorga, who has just quit her job as a teacher, has gone into hiding.
Lawyers for Ronaldo have threatened to sue Der Spiegel over the “blatantly illegal” claims.
Las Vegas Police Department has spoken to Ms Mayorga several times in recent weeks – sparking claims that they may re-open the rape investigation.
Sexual assault does not fall under the US statute of limitations in Nevada — which means it can be investigated despite occurring nine years ago.
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Both Ms Mayorga and Mr Stovall did not respond to requests for comment by The Sun.
Lawyers for Ronaldo also failed to respond to a request for comment.
Multi-millionaire Ronaldo is one of the biggest names in sport and regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time.
He has been named world player of the year five times and transferred to Juventus from Real Madrid this summer for £99milllion.
The Italian club and the Las Vegas Police Department yesterday also declined to comment on the latest revelations.
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