Ronaldo demands secret evidence in rape case be wiped from court records as accuser files civil lawsuit
CRISTIANO Ronaldo is demanding that secret documents related to his Las Vegas rape case be "stricken" from court records.
In new court documents obtained by Sun Online, the Juventus star's lawyers are asking for key exhibits, which are currently under seal, to be removed entirely - while his accuser's team argue that they’re a valid part of the case.
American teacher Kathryn Mayorga accused Ronaldo of raping her in a Las Vegas hotel in June 2009, a claim the soccer star has vehemently denied.
While criminal charges have been dropped in the case, Mayorga filed court papers on September 30th requesting a jury trial in the civil case.
Just days later on October 1st, lawyers for Ronaldo requested that certain sealed documents which contained secret "communications" between the footballer, his legal team and investigators remained sealed until a court hearing decides whether they should be stricken or not.
Later in the court document, it states that the Ronaldo "intends to move" to have the documents and "all references thereto, entirely stricken from the record."
The new document states: "Defendant asserts Documents 0003- 0257 consist almost entirely of what purport to be communications among counsel and/or investigators for Mr. Ronaldo, as well as internal communications among counsel, attorney work- product and attorney-client communications and/or the unlawful publication of purported attorney-client communications and attorney work-product.
"While Mr. Ronaldo does not believe such documents are without alteration, he nevertheless has never agreed to waive any of the protections of the attorney-client privilege or attorney work product doctrine.
"Accordingly, Mr. Ronaldo intends to move, pursuant to Rules 104 and 502 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, to have Documents 0003-0257 and all references thereto, entirely stricken from the record. Plaintiff intends to oppose, arguing that exceptions to such privileges apply."
Mayorga alleges she reached a $375,000 'hush money' settlement with Ronaldo in 2010, saying that she felt intimidated to take the money rather than taking on such a celebrity in court.
In December, whistleblowing website Football Leaks revealed hundreds of secret documents which claim to show how Mayorga was paid off to remain silent.
The Football Leaks documents, pertaining to be emails between Ronaldo attorneys, his investigators and the footballer himself, were then passed to Mayorga's legal team.
Ronaldo’s team claimed that the Football Leaks documents were fake, saying they were "evidently stolen by hackers and significant portions of them were altered and/or completely fabricated", although no proof was provided.
It's unclear whether the documents Ronaldo is seeking to have stricken from the record are part of the Football Leaks documents.
A spokesperson for Ronaldo declined to comment.