A U.S. District Court judge in Nevada dismissed the rape lawsuit against soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo on Saturday.
Judge Jennifer Dorsey threw out former model Kathryn Mayorga’s case because her lawyer, Leslie Mark Stovall, was acting in “bad faith.” The entire case was dismissed, rather than Stovall being disqualified, because “simply disqualifying Stovall will not cure the prejudice to Ronaldo,” Dorsey said.
“This case has devolved into a clash over the plaintiff’s procurement and use of the defendant’s cyberhacked attorney-client privileged documents to revive long-since-released claims … although I recognize the gravity of this sanction and impose it reluctantly and only after comprehensively evaluating the universe of sanctions jurisprudence and carefully weighing all considerations, I grant the motion and dismiss this case with prejudice,” Dorsey wrote in her 42-page order.
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Mayorga accused Ronaldo of forcing himself on her in a Las Vegas hotel in 2009. Ronaldo acknowledged they had sex but said their encounter was consensual.
Mayorga said she was forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement and agreed to accept $375,000 not to pursue criminal charges. The Saturday dismissal was part of a civil action she brought in 2019.
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In 2018, Mayorga’s attorneys requested that police reopen the rape investigation. A year later, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson concluded there was not enough evidence “beyond a reasonable doubt” that her claims were legitimate and opted not to charge the soccer player.
