A US federal magistrate judge in Nevada, Danie Albregts, has said a rape lawsuit brought against Cristiano Ronaldo, should be dismissed.
The case was instituted by Kathryn Mayorga, a model who sued for more than the $375,000 in hush money she received in 2010, claiming Ronaldo raped her in Las Vegas.
Albregts has blamed Mayorga’s attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, for basing the case on leaked and stolen documents.
According to Albregts, the documents were privileged communications between Ronaldo and his lawyers.
“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,” Albregts said in his recommendation to US District Judge Jennifer Dorsey.
A date for Dorsey to take up Albregt’s recommendation was not immediately set.
Ronaldo’s attorney in Las Vegas, Peter Christiansen, has now issued a statement saying the footballer’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.”
