Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo will not face prosecution over allegations of sexual assault in Las Vegas 10 years ago, according to lawyers.
The Clark County District Attorney’s Office said on Monday it “will decline to prosecute” a sexual assault allegation made the former Real Madrid superstar in 2009.
The Portugal international was accused in September of sexually assaulting an American woman, Kathryn Mayorga in a hotel room in Las Vegas in June 2009 – though he denied the claim.
The 33-year-old said rape was “an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in”.
The investigation was closed in 2009 but was reopened in August shortly before Ms Mayorga filed a civil lawsuit last year, offering details she initially withheld.
A statement from the Clark County attorney’s office said: “Based upon a review of the information presented at this time, the allegations of sexual assault against Cristiano Ronaldo cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
“Therefore, no charges will be forthcoming.”
In the statement, the attorney’s office said on 13 June, 2009, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department received a call from a woman who claimed she had been sexually assaulted.
Speaking to detectives at the time, the woman said she knew the person who assaulted her, but she refused to identify him and would also not say exactly where the attack happened.
So, police say they were unable to “follow investigative protocols for sexual assault cases or to conduct any meaningful investigation” as they were unable to visit the location of the crime.
It was also revealed in the statement also that video evidence believed to show happenings between the alleged attacker and the victim before and after the crime were lost, leading to a close to a criminal case for the first time.
