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Cristiano Ronaldo.
- Las Vegas police want a sample of Cristiano Ronaldo's DNA in an alleged rape case. Ronaldo denies the allegations.
- A 34-year-old woman filed a lawsuit last year alleging Ronaldo assaulted her at a $1,000 per night penthouse in Las Vegas, in 2009.
- She went to police the day after the apparent attack took place, and DNA other than her own was found on a dress.
- Authorities want to know whether Ronaldo's DNA matches that which was found on her dress.
- Ronaldo's lawyer has responded by saying the DNA warrant is a "very standard request."
- The lawyer added that it would not be surprising to discover matching DNA, because what occurred in 2009 was "consensual."
Cristiano Ronaldo's lawyer has said that the Las Vegas police warrant for the soccer player's DNA in an alleged rape case is a "very standard request." The Juventus FC player denies the allegations.
The Wall Street Journal reports that authorities issued the warrant to see if Ronaldo's DNA matches "that found on the dress of a woman who has accused him of rape."
Las Vegas police reopened the case when Kathryn Mayorga, 34, filed a lawsuit last year that claimed Ronaldo raped her at a $1,000 per night penthouse.
Mayorga went to police the day after the alleged attack on June 12, 2009, where she did not refer to Ronaldo by name but described him as an athlete and public figure.
The 2009 incident "never left" Mayorga, according to her mother, who added that she would "completely disintegrate" whenever she saw him on billboards in the years that followed.
Ronaldo reportedly paid Mayorga $375,000 to not say anything. He also denied the allegation last year, and said the encounter was consensual.
But the WSJ claims that the dress Mayorga wore that night in 2009 remains critical in the investigation. This is because a law-enforcement official says DNA other than Mayorga's was found on the dress. Las Vegas police want to know whether Ronaldo's DNA sample matches what was found on Mayorga's dress.
Ronaldo's lawyer has confirmed that authorities want his DNA, and has said it is just a "standard request."
Peter S. Christiansen, Ronaldo's lawyer, said: "Mr. Ronaldo has always maintained, as he does today, that what occurred in 2009 in Las Vegas was consensual in nature, so it is not surprising that DNA would be present, nor that the police would make this very standard request as part of their investigation."
The warrant has been served in Italy, where Ronaldo is currently a striker for the reigning Serie A champion Juventus FC.
Ronaldo "firmly" denied the allegations in a series of tweets last October.
"I firmly deny the accusations being issued against me," he said, "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."
In a second tweet, he added: "My clear conscious will thereby allow me to await with tranquillity the results of any and all investigations."