The American judge recommended that the civil rape case against 36-year-old Man Utd striker Cristiano Ronaldo be dropped.
What did Daniel Albregts say?
The Portuguese was accused of sexually assaulting Kathryn Mayorga at a Las Vegas hotel back in 2009. Cristiano Ronaldo has always denied any wrongdoing and prosecutors decided not to open a criminal case back in 2019, saying the charges against him could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Judge Daniel Albregts looked at the case before a separate judge makes a final decision and says the communication leak between Cristiano Ronaldo and his legal team should not have been exploited by Kathryn Mayorga’s lawyer Leslie Mark Stovall.
In his recommendation to US District Judge Jennifer Dorsey, Daniel Albregts wrote that it is recommended that Cristiano Ronaldo’s motion to end the sanctions be upheld. In addition, it is recommended that Kathryn Mayorga’s actions be rejected with prejudice.
Daniel Albregts said the rejection of Kathryn Mayorga’s for the inappropriate behavior of her attorney is a harsh outcome. But this, unfortunately, is the only appropriate sanction to ensure the integrity of the trial. Daniel also said that Mark Stovall acted in bad faith to the detriment of his client and his profession.
Statement of lawyers Cristiano Ronaldo
Daniel Albregts also noted that the court did not rule that Cristiano Ronaldo committed the crime, and did not find any evidence that his representatives intimidated Kathryn Mayorga or obstructed law enforcement when the criminal charges were dropped and the confidential agreement in the amount of 375,000 euros.
Stoyall tried to cancel this agreement on the grounds that his client could not agree to such terms. Responding to Daniel Albregts’ recommendation, attorney for Cristiano Ronaldo Peter Christiansen said that they are pleased with the detailed consideration by the court of this issue and its willingness to fairly apply the law to the facts and recommend that the civil case against Mr. Cristiano Ronaldo be discontinued.