Las Vegas police confirmed that they have re-opened the investigation of a rape which took place in June 2009.
It comes following the publication of an interview with Kathryn Mayorga by German magazine Der Spiegel. Mayorga, a 34-year-old American, alleges that she was raped by Cristiano Ronaldo in his Las Vegas hotel room in June 2009.
Ronaldo has denied the claim, dismissing it as "fake news" in a video on Instagram.
"The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded to a call of a sexual assault on June 13, 2009. At the time the report was taken, the victim did not provide detectives with the location of the incident or suspect description. A medical exam was conducted," said the police statement.
"As of September 2018, the case has been reopened and our detectives are following up on information being provided by the victim. This is an on-going investigation and no further details will be released at this time."
Mayorga made a $375,000 out of court settlement with Ronaldo in 2010. As part of that settlement, she signed a non-disclosure agreement.
However, much has changed in the interim. The 'Me Too' movement and hearing the stories of women who suffered sexual assaults encouraged Mayorga to speak out regarding the alleged incident.
She also has a strong legal representative who believes the settlement agreement is void and that she has every right speak out.
A civil lawsuit was filed in Nevada late last month in Mayorga's name seeking compensation for injuries she allegedly suffered. It also seeks to invalidate the 2010 agreement.
According to that lawsuit, Mayorga met Ronaldo at the Rain nightclub in Las Vegas on June 12, 2009. She and a friend later visited the then 24-year-old's hotel room at his invitation.
After initially declining an offer to get into the room's hot tub, Mayorga was provided with more suitable clothing than the dress she was wearing.
As she was putting on those clothes in a bathroom, she alleges that Ronaldo entered the room and asked for oral sex. After refusing, she claims that Ronaldo pulled her into a bedroom where the alleged rape took place.
Mayorga went to police the following morning.
Picture credit: Shutterstock.com
