Cristiano Ronaldo denies rape accusations on social media
The 33-year-old football star denies allegations by a former American model that he raped her in a Las Vegas hotel in 2009, says his conscience is clear.
Ronaldo posted a video on Instagram shortly after a civil lawsuit was filed in Nevada last week, calling it "Fake. Fake news."
Football star Cristiano Ronaldo on Wednesday denied "accusations being issued against" him and called rape an "abominable crime."
The 33-year-old has been accused of rape by Kathryn Mayorga. She has said the soccer great raped her in Las Vegas in 2009.
Ronaldo posted a video on Instagram shortly after a civil lawsuit was filed in Nevada last week, calling it "Fake. Fake news."
On Wednesday, Ronaldo tweeted in both Portuguese and English.
Ronaldo wrote: "I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me. Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in."
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.
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) October 3, 2018
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 (sic) will thereby allow me to await with tranquillity the results of any and all investigations," he added on his Twitter feed @Cristiano, which has nearly 75 million followers.
My clear conscious will thereby allow me to await with tranquillity the results of any and all investigations.
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) October 3, 2018
First reported by German magazine
Kathryn Mayorga, 34, of Las Vegas, accused Ronaldo, in a 32-page complaint filed last month with a district court in Nevada, of raping her on June 13, 2009.
Las Vegas police this week said they were reopening a case filed on that date but did not identify the victim or the alleged perpetrator by name.
Mayorga alleges in the lawsuit that she was pressured into signing a nondisclosure agreement to keep the alleged rape secret and is seeking no less than $200,000 in penalties and damages.
The complaint was first reported by the German magazine Der Spiegel.
Lawyers for Ronaldo have reportedly threatened to sue the magazine over the story.
Mayorga says inspired by #MeToo campaign
In an interview with Der Spiegel, Mayorga said she was inspired to come forward in part by the #MeToo movement that has exposed the sexual abuse of women by powerful men.
Ronaldo is a five-time winner of FIFA's men's player of the year award.
The Portuguese striker, a married father of four, left Real Madrid this year to join Juventus for $117 million.
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