US judge points Ronaldo rape case towards trial

LAS VEGAS (AP):

Cristiano Ronaldo’s legal fight with a woman who accuses the international football star of raping her in his suite at a Las Vegas resort more than 10 years ago is heading towards a trial before a federal judge in Nevada.

No date was immediately set, but US District Judge Jennifer Dorsey said she will hear arguments and decide herself whether Kathryn Mayorga was mentally fit to enter a 2010 hush-money agreement with Ronaldo’s representatives that paid Mayorga US$375,000.

Ronaldo’s attorney, Peter Christiansen, declined to comment.

Mayorga’s lawyers, led by Leslie Mark Stovall, did not immediately respond to email and telephone messages about the judge’s ruling, issued September 30.

Dorsey wrote that a court should decide whether Mayorga “lacked the mental capacity” to sign a confidentiality arrangement with Ronaldo’s representatives and “whether any agreement ... was ever formed between the parties.”

It was not immediately clear whether Ronaldo or Mayorga will have to be in court in person when a trial is held.

Dorsey gave both sides until the end of November to agree upon a plan for a bench trial.

POSSIBLE APPEAL

Christiansen could appeal Dorsey’s order to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. He declined to say if he will do so.

The ruling represents a setback for Ronaldo’s legal representatives, who have so far kept details of the 2010 settlement sealed. It moves back to a public court question that US Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts said in February belonged behind closed doors.

US district judges can overrule magistrate judges, who handle court filings and pretrial arguments.

Ronaldo, 35, lives in Portugal and is one of the richest athletes in the world. He plays in Italy for the Turin-based club Juventus and captains his home country’s national team.