Kathryn Mayorga's lawyer has been ordered to pay Cristiano Ronaldo $334,637.50 (£275k) to reimburse legal fees that the 38-year-old paid while defending himself in a lawsuit after Mayorga accused him of rape.
Mayorga, who waived her right for anonymity, had alleged that Ronaldo raped her in 2009 at a Las Vegas hotel, but Ronaldo denied the allegations. The pair reached a settlement in 2010, however eight years later she filed the civil lawsuit after Football Leaks exposed details of communications between Ronaldo’s lawyers.
The civil lawsuit was dismissed in June of last year when US District Judge Jennifer Dorsey ruled that Mayorga’s lawyer, Leslie Mark Stovall, had relied on the leaked and stolen records from Football Leaks. In turn, Ronaldo's attorney Peter Christiansen requested that Stovall was to be held personally responsible for the $626,000 in attorney’s fees.
Court documents filed on February 14 of this year show that the judge granted the motion and has awarded him just north of half of the aforementioned figure.
Judge Dorsey acknowledged when the lawsuit was dismissed last summer that Ronaldo had suffered as a result of Stovall's conduct, but also held the former Manchester United man partly to blame for not seeking to disqualify Mayorga's lawyer sooner.
In Dorsey's original 42-page ruling, she wrote that “even at early stage of litigation it was clear… that (Mayorga’s) allegations were rooted in the purloined material."
Judge Dorsey also accused Mr Stovall of "abuses and flagrant circumvention of the proper litigation process" and that "Mayorga loses her opportunity to pursue this case" as a result of his conduct.
Las Vegas Police actually re-investigated the crime in 2018 at the request of Mayorga but a year later they ruled that her claims could not "be proven beyond reasonable doubt."
The Clark County District Attorney's office in Las Vegas also said Ms Mayorga reported an assault in 2009, but did not state where it had taken place or who by, which led to the Las Vegas Police claiming they were unable "to conduct any meaningful investigation".
In turn, it was also ruled that Ronaldo would face no criminal charges. The 38-year-old has consistently denied all accusations made against him.
