Los Angeles (AFP)

The rape claim against Cristiano Ronaldo in the United States is maintained, contrary to some information broadcast by the media, said Wednesday the AFP lawyer Kathryn Mayorga, the young woman who accuses the star footballer to have assaulted in a Las Vegas hotel in 2009.

"The charges have not been dropped." We have just withdrawn our complaint at the state level (Nevada, ed) because we filed an identical complaint in federal court, "said Larissa Drohobyczer, who represents Ms. Mayorga .

"In concrete terms, we have just changed jurisdiction but the charges remain," said the Las Vegas lawyer.

Various media had previously announced the withdrawal of the original complaint, without having been notified of the filing of the second complaint, still in civil.

The decision to file a complaint at the federal level against the five-fold Ballon d'Or is linked in particular to the American procedures governing "assignments issued to foreign nationals," said Ms. Drohobyczer, without further details.

Cristiano Ronaldo plays in Italy, at Juventus Turin, and according to several media, Mrs. Mayorga's American lawyers have had a hard time handing her the subpoena in court in Las Vegas, as the law from the state asks for it.

According to court documents consulted by AFP, they finally managed to locate and get an address for the football star that March 22, almost six months after the filing of the initial complaint.

Proceedings in accordance with European procedures in this area have been initiated with the Italian authorities to assign Cristiano Ronaldo, according to these documents.

Kathryn Mayorga, a 35-year-old American woman, claims that the Portuguese abused her on June 13, 2009, in her hotel room in Las Vegas, when she refused her advances and protected herself from sex. hands.

Ronaldo has always denied these accusations.

Last January, the Las Vegas police sent a request to the Italian authorities to obtain a DNA sample from Cristiano Ronaldo, a usual measure in such a case.

In March, Juventus Turin said its summer tour would take place this year in Asia, and not in the United States as in recent seasons.

? 2019 AFP