A federal magistrate judge in Nevada is siding with Cristiano Ronaldo’s lawyers against a woman who sued for more than the $375,000 in hush money she received in 2010 after saying the international soccer star raped her in Las Vegas.
In a report to the judge hearing the case, U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts on Wednesday said Kathryn Mayorga’s attorney, Leslie Stovall, based his entire civil case on leaked and stolen documents that were privileged communications between Ronaldo and his lawyers.
Mayorga said Ronaldo raped her in 2009 in Las Vegas
“Dismissing Mayorga’s case for the inappropriate conduct of her attorney is a harsh result. But it is, unfortunately, the only appropriate sanction to ensure the integrity of the judicial process.” the magistrate wrote in his 23-page report to the U.S.
Stovall did not immediately respond on Thursday to a request for comment about Albregts’ report. Ronaldo’s attorney in Las Vegas, Peter Christiansen, issued a statement saying Ronaldo’s legal team was “pleased with the court’s detailed review. And its willingness to justly apply the law to the facts and recommend dismissal of the civil case against Mr. Ronaldo.”
The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they are victims of sexual assault, but Mayorga gave consent through Stovall and attorney Larissa Drohobyczer to make her name public.
Albregts noted the court did not find that Ronaldo committed a crime. And found no evidence his attorneys and representatives “intimidated Mayorga or impeded law enforcement”. When Mayorga dropped criminal charges and finalized the $375,000 confidential settlement in August 2010.
Stovall has acted in bad faith to his client’s—and his profession’s—detriment: Albreguets
“Mayorga’s case against Ronaldo probably would not have existed if Stovall had not asked for documents on the football leaks. There is no possible way for this case to proceed where the court cannot explain what arguments. And testimony are based on these privileged documents,” Albreguets wrote
