The Juventus forward has vehemently denied the accusations of rape and with his lawyer, Peter Christiansen, he insisted that this request was standard procedure, and again does not imply guilt.
In a statement, he said “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,”
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said it had made an official request to Italian authorities, adding it is “taking the same steps in this case as in any other sexual assault to facilitate the collection of DNA evidence.”
Former model Kathryn Mayorga, 34, of Las Vegas, accused Ronaldo in a complaint filed last year in the state of Nevada.
She claims, in 2009, after meeting him at a Las Vegas nightclub, he took her to his suite and raped her, just before he joined Real Madrid from Manchester United.
Mayorga alleges she was paid $375,000 to keep quiet.
Ronaldo´s lawyers have said that the non-disclosure agreement signed with the former model is “by no means a confession of guilt.” however accept that it does exist.
Mayorga´s attorney has previously said that the model agreed to an out-of-court settlement to keep her name from going public, but was inspired to speak out by the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment.
Mayorga’s lawsuit accuses Ronaldo, 33, and his camp of taking advantage of her fragile emotional state to coercing the then 24-year-old, into signing a settlement and nondisclosure agreement. She claims she received $375,000 in exchange for her silence and her lawsuit seeks to void the settlement and agreement.
The lawsuit adds that Mayorga was manipulated and put under pressure by Ronaldo’s “fixers” to agree to the 2010 settlement, which saw the American receive a $375,000 pay-off. Ronaldo’s lawyer acknowledged the existence of this settlement but said it was “by no means a confession of guilt”.
Some have suggested this inspiration is could be opportunism and the facts surrounding the night have made Cristiano Ronaldo a prime target for ‘blackmail’, or a ‘cash cow’. And the legal landscape in the US encourages claims of punitive nature. Often lawyers employ a ‘No Win, No Fee’ policy.
However, it is equally credible to assume that the inspirational #MeToo movement has encouraged Kathryn Mayorga to come forward. After keeping quiet for almost a decade, Mayorga has now gone public with her story and last month filed a lawsuit against the footballer.
It is hard to ignore certain facts which keep coming through, like the fact that the star’s lawyer had to pay her to ‘keep quiet’, signing a non-disclosure agreement to keep sensitive facts from coming out, which is quite standard in most legal dealings these days.
Additionally, in 2009 Mayorga made a complaint but did not provide an assailant’s name or the location of the alleged assault. Either she was unable to follow through with the claim at the times due to pressures from the attorneys or she was banking the medical exam for future reference.
The world has changed significantly since 2009 and the #MeToo movement has inspired women around the globe, however, it has also provided an opportunity for some to use the limelight to benefit financially.
There is also the added incentive for the Police in Las Vegas to seek justice, which they did not follow up on in 2009. They have reopened their investigation into the alleged assault from 2009 and are aggressively diverting resources to this case.
Either way the explosive allegation, made by Kathryn Mayorga, threatens to engulf Ronaldo in a lengthy legal battle for the next 12 to 18 months and the outcome of which, for now, remains uncertain.
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