Is Cristiano Ronaldo a rapist?
Executive summary
The available public record shows that Kathryn Mayorga accused Cristiano Ronaldo of raping her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009 and that she later received a $375,000 settlement which Ronaldo and his team say was to avoid damaging false allegations; U.S. prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges and a federal civil suit seeking to void the settlement was dismissed because the plaintiff’s lawyer used stolen, leaked documents, not because a judge found the underlying conduct proven or disproven [1][2][3]. While the allegation remains publicly reported and contested, there is no criminal conviction of Ronaldo on this matter in the sources provided [3][4].
1. The allegation and the confidential settlement
In 2018–2019 Kathryn Mayorga said she was raped in Las Vegas in June 2009 and later entered a nondisclosure agreement with Ronaldo’s representatives in 2010, receiving roughly $375,000, a payment that was widely reported and discussed in major outlets [2][5][6].
2. Criminal investigation and prosecutors’ decision
Las Vegas police reopened an investigation after the public reporting, but the Clark County District Attorney reviewed the case and in 2019 declined to file criminal charges, stating the allegations could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and that too much time had passed to pursue a successful prosecution, according to reporting [7][8][4].
3. Civil litigation, dismissal and the judge’s reasoning
Mayorga later sued to void the nondisclosure agreement and seek additional damages; that federal civil suit was dismissed in 2022 after a U.S. district judge accepted a magistrate’s finding that the plaintiff’s attorney engaged in misconduct by using leaked and possibly stolen documents, a procedural ruling that ended the civil claim rather than resolving factual disputes about what happened in 2009 [3][9][4].
4. Competing narratives and leaked documents
Reporting has included leaked documents and media investigations (notably Der Spiegel and Football Leaks) that fueled public debate and led to renewed scrutiny, while Ronaldo’s camp has consistently denied the accusations and framed the settlement as a way to stop defamatory attacks; some outlets published alleged statements attributed to Ronaldo in leaked records, but courts penalized the use of those materials in litigation, complicating their evidentiary value [1][10][7].
5. Public perception, national loyalties and scholarly analysis
Reactions have been polarized: in Portugal many commentators and social media defended Ronaldo and framed Mayorga negatively, while other commentators and some athletes urged belief in survivors and suggested the settlement and leaked documents indicate misconduct; academic analysis has traced how national identity, masculinity myths and media frames influenced public reception of the allegation [11][12].
6. What can be concluded from the reporting supplied
Given the absence of a criminal conviction, the DA’s decision not to charge, and the dismissal of the civil case on procedural grounds tied to attorney misconduct rather than a factual finding of innocence, the sources do not establish as a legal fact that Cristiano Ronaldo is a rapist; they do establish that a credible allegation was made, that a settlement was paid, and that the matter remains contested in public and legal arenas [3][5][2]. The record in these sources therefore supports the narrow, legally grounded conclusion that Ronaldo has been accused and denied wrongdoing, but has not been convicted — and that litigation over the settlement has been stymied by procedural problems rather than resolved on the merits [4][3].