US court permits Cristiano Ronaldo to legally block rape accuser's probe into hush-money deal

Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has won a key court battle to stop the woman accusing him of raping her from investigating the validity of their 2010 confidentiality agreement and $375,000 payment.

Kathryn Mayorga's attorney wanted to dig deeper into the legality and validity of the agreement struck between Mayorga and Ronaldo that resulted in Mayorga receiving payment of $375,000 in hush money.

But US magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts ruled that the higher courts would need to rule on whether Mayorga's challenge to investigate the deal would go to trial or a behind-closed-doors arbitration process.

Mayorga’s attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, did not issue an official comment following the judge's ruling.

Former model and teacher Mayorga said in court that she and Ronaldo met at a Las Vegas nightclub and retired to his suite at the Palms Hotel and Casino. It is there she alleges he sexually assaulted her. Ronaldo, meanwhile, asserts that the sex was consensual.

Mayorga's legal representative Stovall said he wanted to gain access to records of communication between Ronaldo and the footballer's legal team ahead of the 2010 settlement deal they struck with Mayorga, with Mayorga's legal team hoping to question the legality of the contract signed.

Stovall explained that Mayorga's learning difficulties as a child, and that Ronaldo's team knew she was so upset at the time that she was mentally restricted from being able to fully understand and sign a non-disclosure agreement contract.

But Ronaldo's lawyers have argued there was no evidence of Mayorga's inability to understand the contract, with the team going on to say that the deal, and the subsequent payment, were not to be disclosed publicly. Now they have, Ronaldo's team says the contract states that out-of-court arbitration be followed to resolve the issue.