LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Latest on the status of U.S. state and federal lawsuits accusing soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo of rape (all times local):
11:10 a.m.
A lawyer for a woman who has accused soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo of raping her in 2009 in Las Vegas says the legal action has not been dropped but the court venue has been changed.
Attorney Larissa Drohobyczer (droh-HOH’-bit-zer) said Wednesday that a federal lawsuit filed against the player continues.
That’s despite the voluntary dismissal last month of a state lawsuit filed last September against Ronaldo in Nevada.
Drohobyczer says the same claims were in both lawsuits.
Drohobyczer she’s awaiting word that Ronaldo has been served with legal papers so the federal case can proceed.
Ronaldo plays in Italy for the Turin-based based soccer club Juventus.
His attorney Peter Christiansen declined to comment about the lawsuits.
Christiansen has denied the rape allegation but acknowledged Ronaldo and the woman met in 2009. He says they had consensual sex.
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9:25 a.m.
A lawsuit filed last September in Nevada state court accusing Cristiano Ronaldo of rape has been dropped by a woman who alleges the soccer star paid her $375,000 to keep quiet about a 2009 Las Vegas hotel penthouse encounter.
But a federal lawsuit filed in January by the same woman is still active, and Las Vegas police say their investigation of the allegations remains open.
Ronaldo lawyer Peter Christiansen declined Wednesday to comment about the voluntary dismissal of the state lawsuit last month.
The woman’s lawyer, Leslie Mark Stovall, didn’t immediately respond to telephone and email messages.
Ronaldo plays in Italy for the Turin-based based soccer club Juventus.
It’s not clear if he was ever legally served with the state lawsuit or if he received documents in the federal case.
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