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Police investigating Cristiano Ronaldo over an alleged rape believed they had enough evidence to arrest and charge the soccer star — but were scuppered by a senior official.
Cops in Las Vegas — where accuser Kathryn Mayorga claimed the Manchester United ace had raped her in a hotel room — had even signed a warrant for Ronaldo’s arrest.
But Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson slapped down the detectives and declined to prosecute the case.
In a bombshell court transcript unearthed by The Sun, Mayorga’s lawyer Leslie Mark Stovall, revealed: “What happened is when that [arrest warrant] was submitted to the district attorney’s office, Mr. Wolfson declined to prosecute.
“He doesn’t say why he decided to decline and anything — any argument is just speculation. It was within the statute of limitations.
“The police believed that they had a case to prosecute for one count of sexual assault and the DA decided not to.”
Stovall made the claim in the US District Court in Las Vegas on September 21 last year, but the transcript has only now come to light.
DA Wolfson is the top prosecutor in Las Vegas, which comes under Clark County, Nevada.
In July, 2019 after reviewing the police investigation, Mr Wolfson said there wasn’t enough evidence to prove the allegations against Ronaldo beyond reasonable doubt, and no charges were filed.
The superstar striker has fiercely denied raping Mayorga at the Palms Hotel and Casino on June 12, 2009.
Ron, 37, settled with his accuser in a civil case where she accepted a $373,839.24 “hush” payment, but she is now seeking a further $75,835,200 in damages.
Despite the police probe being dropped, the civil case is still ongoing.
Ronaldo’s legal team has always claimed that the police investigated the alleged rape twice in 2009 and 2018 — and found there was no case to answer.
And the star himself denies the allegations and maintains he had consensual sex with Mayorga.
A new investigation by Las Vegas police failed to show that Mayorga’s claim could be proven at trial beyond a reasonable doubt, DA Wolfson said.
A July, 2019 statement from the Clark County District Attorney’s office read: “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.”
Reps for Ronaldo declined to comment.
This story originally appeared on The Sun and has been reproduced here with permission.
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