Ronaldo rape accuser 'suffering PTSD and depression'
Ronaldo has issued a strong denial, saying rape is "abominable" and "goes against everything that I am and believe in".
Thursday 4 October 2018 13:09, UK
A lawyer for the woman who has accused Cristiano Ronaldo of raping her says she has suffered post-traumatic stress and depression ever since the alleged attack nine years ago.
Kathryn Mayorga has filed a lawsuit against the football superstar and police in Las Vegas have reopened their investigation.
Ronaldo has denied the accusations, describing rape as an "abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in".
Ms Mayorga's lawyer, Leslie Stovall, told a news conference that the 34-year-old teacher wants to avoid the cameras because of her emotional state. She is reported to have left the US.
"She wants justice," he said, adding: "It is very personal to her, it is very difficult."
"This is an individual who suffers from major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
"She has a lot of problems attributable to the 2009 sexual assault and it's been very difficult for her over the last eight or nine years.
"In dealing with Ms Mayorga and her family we have been particularly careful and mindful of her emotional state."
Mr Stovall said his client had been encouraged by the #MeToo movement.
"The women who stood up and disclosed sexual assaults publicly have given Kathryn courage," he said.
"We look forward to presenting Ms Mayorga's case to a jury in this community."
Ms Mayorga says she was raped in a suite at the Palms Place Hotel in Las Vegas in June 2009. She had met Ronaldo in a nightclub earlier that night.
The lawsuit claims she was coerced into signing a $375,000 (£332,000) out-of-court settlement with Ronaldo in 2010.
She wants the agreement to be declared void.
Ronaldo, 33, has issued his first direct denial of the allegations.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star tweeted: "I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me. Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in.
"Keen as I may be to clear my name I refuse to feed the media spectacle created by people seeking to promote themselves at my expense.
"My clear conscious will thereby allow me to await with tranquillity the results of any and all investigations."
Three days earlier he responded to the allegations in a video to fans by calling them "fake news".
Ronaldo's lawyers say reporting of the allegations and details of the settlement in the German publication Der Spiegel was "blatantly illegal".