Legal

Prosecutors have announced they will NOT file criminal charges against soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo for an alleged sexual assault from 2009.

As we previously reported, Kathryn Mayorga claims Ronaldo raped her in a Las Vegas hotel room back in 2009.

She claims she met CR7 at Rain Nightclub in the Palms hotel in June 2009 and he invited her up to his penthouse suite to party and hot tub. There are photos of Mayorga and Ronaldo hanging out at the nightclub together that evening.

She had initially filed a police report describing the alleged crime -- but didn't identify Ronaldo by name.

Mayorga sued Ronaldo claiming she later accepted a $375,000 payment in exchange for her silence -- but recently announced she wants that agreement voided and went to cops to pursue a criminal case against Ronaldo.

In court documents, Mayorga described the alleged attack ... saying while changing her clothes in the penthouse suite, "Ronaldo entered the bathroom, exposed his erect penis and asked [her] to perform fellatio."

Mayorga claimed she refused and wanted to leave -- but Ronaldo "pulled [her] into a bedroom and onto a bed and attempted to engage in sexual intercourse."

Mayorga claims she tried to fight Ronaldo off -- but he turned her onto her side and sodomized her while she screamed "no, no, no."

Ronaldo had adamantly denied the allegations -- and said, "Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything that I am and believe in."

Now, the Clark County District Attorney’s Office has made a decision to NOT prosecute -- claiming "the allegations of sexual assault against Cristiano Ronaldo cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt."

Prosecutors described the situation in detail ...

"On June 13, 2009, a female victim ('V') placed a call to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and reported that she had been the victim of sexual assault.  Members of law enforcement responded to her location to take a crime report.  Police transported V to the hospital so that a sexual assault examination could be conducted."

"A short time later, sexual assault detectives arrived at the hospital and made contact with V.  Although she knew who the person was who assaulted her, V refused to identify him or disclose where the crime occurred.  As a result, the police were unable to follow investigative protocols for sexual assault cases or to conduct any meaningful investigation.  Without knowing the identity of the perpetrator or the location of the crime, detectives were unable to search for and impound vital forensic evidence.  In addition, video evidence, showing interactions between the victim and perpetrator before and after the alleged crime, was lost.  The criminal investigation was closed."

"V and Cristiano Ronaldo, through their respective attorneys, eventually reached a civil settlement related to this matter in 2010.  For the next eight years, law enforcement heard nothing more from V regarding the crime or the perpetrator."

"On August 28, 2018, V contacted the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, asking that her sexual assault investigation be reopened, naming Cristiano Ronaldo as the offender.  In spite of the passage of over nine years, Metro investigated her allegations."

A$AP Rocky's hometown congressman isn't sure if President Trump is genuine in wanting to help free him -- but he says it doesn't matter ... as long as the end goal is achieved.

We got Rep. Adriano Espaillat in NYC Sunday -- where he represents A$AP's home borough of Harlem -- and asked what he made of Trump saying he'd guarantee Rocky's bail if need be.

As we reported ... Trump tweeted out an update on the legal sitch in Sweden -- where A$AP's been jailed for about three weeks now -- and said he spoke the Prime Minister, assuring him the rapper wasn't a flight risk, and that he'd even vouch for his bail.

Rep. Espaillat says Trump being willing to put his own rep on the line for A$AP's bail is somewhat irrelevant, 'cause as he points out ... money's not really the issue here.

Our guy asks if DT's just using this as a re-election tactic to tap into a new demographic of potential voters come 2020, but the congressman won't go there. He tells us he doesn't wanna speculate on potential motives -- but what he is sure about is that those wanting to get A$AP freed will take any help they can get at this point, including from 45.

Hard to tell if POTUS' involvement is going to help A$AP, because the Swedish PM says he made it clear that their judicial system is independent and won't be subject to outside lobbying.

A$AP Rocky may actually be in even more peril as he lingers in a Swedish jail BECAUSE the U.S. government tried to help him.

The prosecutor has shown no sympathy for A$AP, despite the fact that the person he is accused of assaulting assaulted him first, and it's all on video. Nevertheless, sources connected with the case tell TMZ, the prosecutor has been immovable on the subject of release pending charges, despite the fact that the U.S. State Dept. and now the President of United States got involved.

As we reported, the State Dept. waged a full court press last Thursday, trying to get A$AP out of jail, to no avail. The prosecutor mistakenly played his hand Friday when he released a statement an indictment will be filed against Rocky. His office said it was a mistake to say that, but the intentions are clear.

Sources connected to the case actually think intervention by the State Dept. and the President -- who essentially said he would guarantee bail if they would release Rocky -- could actually BACKFIRE because they are trying to get in the prosecutor's business.

The Swedish Prime Minister as much as said so Saturday, after Trump got him on the horn and lobbied for A$AP's release, telling Trump about "the complete independence of the Swedish judicial system, prosecutors and courts." A spokesperson for the PM said, "He [the PM] underlined that in Sweden everyone is equal before the law and that the government cannot and will not attempt to influence the legal proceedings."

Translation ... butt out.

Pablo Escobar's bro wants to squash his "flamethrower" beef with Elon Musk ... by proposing they go into business together, but only if Elon can convince Prez Trump to issue a pardon.

Yeah, things just got weird.

The Colombian kingpin's bro, Roberto, fired off a letter to Elon -- or as Roberto calls him, "smart gringo" -- to offer several ways they can put their bad blood behind them. As we first reported ... Roberto claims Elon's The Boring Company committed intellectual property theft when one of its engineers jacked the idea of making a toy flamethrower.

Roberto starts the letter -- obtained by TMZ -- by giving Elon a nickname ... La Mosca (The Fly). Read the letter ... Roberto explains why he gave him the nickname. What's more ... one of Roberto's proposed solutions is to get Elon to speak to Trump and pardon him ... so they can build the company "Escobar Musk Enterprises." No joke.

Roberto's second solution ... roll up their sleeves and start a weed biz!!! Seriously ... Roberto's even got a company name picked. Roberto also offers a third solution ... if ya wanna call it that.

Ex-San Diego Chargers star Shawne Merriman is being sued by the parents of a deceased Playboy employee, who claim he drugged and possibly assaulted their daughter before she overdosed while partying with him ... but Merriman flat-out denies wrongdoing.

The employee was Kimberly Fattorini, who died in 2017. At the time, her death was ruled accidental, with the cause being overdose from a cocktail of substances ... including booze, coke and a commonly used date rape drug known as GHB.

In a lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Kimberly's parents claim that she and some friends went to a club event 'cause of an invite from a promoter, who the parents allege went on to host the girls at his house, continuing to party into the early morning.

The lawsuit alleges that the promoter texted Shawne at some point the next day, saying ... "Got 3 whores over," with the idea being that Shawne could take a couple off his hands.

Kimberly's parents go on to claim that Shawne did in fact show up, and was allegedly witnessed carrying a bottle with some sort of liquid inside. After that, the parents allege that Kimberly texted the promoter from inside the house saying, "you friend just poor'd half G in my drink," and the parents believe G refers to GHB, which is a powerful depressant.

The lawsuit alleges Kimberly sent a number of texts afterward that made no sense, with the implication being that she was incredibly intoxicated. The suit claims that Kimberly, Shawne and a friend of hers then went to her friend's place after ... and then around 3 PM, a 911 call was placed by Kimberly's friend who found her unresponsive.

Kimberly's parents claim that first responders found her "half-naked with her jeans unzipped and unbottoned." They also allege Shawne was in the room when 911 was called, and that he made clear to the present parties that he didn't want it known he was there.

The suit alleges that a preliminary report from the autopsy didn't indicate any foul play, but they also note that a test for sexual assault wasn't done because officials said it wasn't conducted at the time of the initial autopsy, and couldn't be done properly afterward.

Now for an alleged text Kimberly's parents claim they dug up between a friend of Kimberly's and the promoter who initially invited Shawne ... it allegedly read, "Shawn killed her ass, what a f***ing idiot." Another alleged text from the promoter reads, "That dumbass been drugging girls for years."

The complaint claims negligence, battery and a violation of the drug dealer liability act. The family's asking for damages.

As for Shawne, a representative for him tells TMZ ... "As of right now Shawne, nor his attorney, have any knowledge of him being named in any lawsuit. This alleged lawsuit is baseless. Shawne attended an after party more than two years ago where a young woman unfortunately overdosed."

Jussie Smollett's lawyers say the Osundairo brothers misquoted alleged defamatory statements they thought his team made, but turns out ... their own attorney said 'em.

Mark Geragos -- who repped Jussie during his criminal trial when he was still in the hot seat in Chicago -- filed legal docs asking a judge to toss the Osundairo Bros.' defamation lawsuit against him, one of his colleagues and his firm, which they filed in April.

One of the main quotes the brothers were suing over in their initial complaint was something they alleged attorney Tina Glandian -- another one of Smollett's attorneys -- said to the media that implied they were part of "illegal" Nigerian steroid trafficking.

The quote the Osundairos attributed to Glandian in their lawsuit read, "platform ... is all about being steroid-free ... Their whole thing is, you know, all-natural bodybuilding. It's ridiculous."

Welp, Geragos points out in his court filing that Ms. Glandian never said that at all -- in fact, it was their attorney, Gloria Schmidt, who said that to the Chicago Tribune in early April ... word-for-word. That alone, Geragos argues is enough grounds for dismissal -- but there's more.

Geragos and co. say that the brothers also paraphrased something they claimed Geragos said on a podcast he does with comic Adam Carolla, alleging the celeb attorney dragged their reps through the mud by indicating they'd attacked Jussie, committed perjury and conspired to make false statements to clear their names.

Geragos submitted transcripts of his podcast during the time of the criminal legal proceedings, and he notes ... he never said the brothers' names, nor did he say or indicate what they attributed to him. Another example Geragos cites for nixing this thing.

Long story short ... Jussie's attorneys say the brothers can't get their quotes straight, and by falsely attributing statements to Geragos and co. ... the suit should be axed, and the Brothers should also be punished with sanctions for allegedly lying to the court.

As A$AP Rocky rots in a Swedish jail for weeks without being charged with a crime, you gotta wonder how another rapper -- a white rapper -- accused of the same crime and more spent a relative nanosecond behind bars before being allowed to go on his merry way and leave the country.

You may recall a story TMZ broke a year ago in May, when G-Eazy was arrested in Stockholm after punching a security guard in a club and snorting coke using a $100 bill.

G-Eazy was arrested for assault, possession of drugs and use of narcotics. There was no video of the attack, yet prosecutors allowed him to strike a deal a day-and-a-half later ... he pled guilty to violent resistance, a crime of violence against an official and illegal drug possession. His sentence -- a $10k fine and probation. He was also ordered to pay the security guard $900.

That was it ... G-Eazy was allowed to leave the country, no muss, no fuss.

Now, compare that to A$AP. There's VIDEO of the assault -- actually 2 videos, the other being the alleged victim assaulting Rocky first -- yet prosecutors and the judge have kept him in jail for more than 2 weeks as they continue to "investigate" and decide if he'll be charged. As we reported, prosecutors mistakenly played their hand Friday and said he was going to get indicted.

A$AP faces 6 years in prison for his alleged assault. G-Eazy spend less than 2 days behind bars.

And, one more thing. Remember, back in 2015 Snoop Dogg was arrested in Sweden after being snatched out of his car because cops believed he was driving under the influence. He was forced to pee in a cup and was released after cops determined he was clean. Snoop, who was there for a concert, said it was a case of DWB and he would never return to the country.

So, what gives?

When the O.J. Simpson verdict came back not guilty, his team of lawyers celebrated the huge victory, but in no way did they disrespect the victims' families ... at least according to Shawn Holley.

The famed attorney -- who was part of Simpson's legal "Dream Team" -- tells TMZ ... Kim Goldman's recent claim that Johnnie Cochran leaned toward her while smiling and said "Gotcha" after the verdict was read, simply didn't happen.

Holley says she doesn't think Ron Goldman's sister is lying, but is mistaken or possibly misremembering the incident. She insists Cochran was always respectful of victims and their loved ones and insisted his colleagues be respectful too.

Holley says she was seated in between Kim and Johnnie ... so she knows what went down and what didn't. She also says the team was very aware any exuberance they showed could look bad, so they discussed being respectful before the verdict was read. Shawn adds, "there's no way in the world" Cochran made such a comment.

Goldman made the claim on Howard Stern's show earlier this week when he asked how sickened she was in the courtroom watching people celebrate the not guilty verdict. She also called the Dream Team's celebratory behavior "disgusting" and "beyond reproach."

Jussie Smollett is pushing back against the appointment of a special prosecutor for his criminal case in Chicago ... and he's doing everything he can to stop it.

The actor's legal team filed three motions Friday, obtained by TMZ, seeking to overturn the appointment of a special prosecutor ... arguing it would expose Jussie to double jeopardy.

According to the docs, Jussie is trying to reverse the order issued last month by a Chicago judge, who faulted Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx and laid the groundwork for Jussie possibly facing prosecution for allegedly faking the now infamous "attack."

Jussie's attorney, Tina Glandian, takes issue with the judge's apparent conclusion Jussie is guilty of staging a hate crime. In the docs, Jussie's legal team claims the Osundairo brothers attacked Jussie, got caught and then blamed him.

According to the docs, Jussie's attorney is floating the idea Abel and Ola Osundairo were motivated by homophobia, and she cites text messages from Ola degrading another man as a "fruit." His legal team is seeking grand jury testimony from the two brothers.

It's another twist in the ongoing Smollett saga ... as you know, the charges against Jussie were essentially dropped, even after the grand jury indicted him on 16 felony counts of lying to cops.

We broke the story ... Jussie claimed he was attacked by 2 masked men who beat him and put a rope around his neck while screaming homophobic and racial slurs. Police called BS.

Tyrone Crawford can head to Dallas Cowboys camp without the worry of a court case hanging over his head ... TMZ Sports has learned he's a cut deal to get his bar brawl charge dropped.

We broke the story, the defensive end wrecked several bouncers at a Panama City Beach, FL bar on March 15. In crazy video we obtained ... you can see the 6'4", 290-pounder mauling people.

We also learned later in the night Crawford shoved at least TWO officers when they were in the process of making an arrest.

But, Tyrone was only hit with a misdemeanor charge of affrays for the altercation ... and court records now show he entered into a pre-trial diversion program to get the charge dropped.

Unclear what the specifics of the deal are ... but it usually means Crawford will have to complete classes and/or pay fines and fees to uphold his end of the bargain.

It's good news for Crawford -- the Cowboys begin training camp in just EIGHT days ... but Tyrone ain't completely out of the woods yet. The NFL still has to make a ruling regarding their investigation into the incident.

Crawford is one of the Cowboys' most unsung players ... as a team captain in 2018, he started 15 games and recorded 5.5 sacks. He's expected to be a key player for Dallas this season.

Katy Perry just arrived to an L.A. Federal Courthouse where a trial is set to take place involving her song "Dark Horse."

Perry -- wearing a mint-colored suit -- is expected to testify in the trial today in what has been a lengthy legal battle.

As we reported ... Katy was sued by Christian rapper Flame back in July 2014 after claiming Katy's 2013 hit track "Dark Horse" is a total rip-off of his Grammy-nominated gospel track "Joyful Noise." Flame's music label uploaded the music video in 2008 to YouTube and it has nearly 4 million views.

According to the suit ... Flame says Perry not only jacked their religious music ... she also destroyed his reputation in the Christian music world because they're now associated with the anti-Christian witchcraft and imagery that appears in the "Dark Horse" music video.

Flame claims Katy jacked the underlying beat ... but she's calling BS, saying there are no significant similarities.

New Memphis Grizzlies stud Josh Jackson just caught a break in his resisting arrest case ... TMZ Sports has learned he just copped a plea deal and will likely have his case dropped.

Jackson was arrested at the Rolling Loud Music Festival in Miami, Florida back in May after cops say he entered a VIP area without proper credentialing.

Cops say when he refused to leave ... they cuffed the 6-foot-8, 200-pound NBA player and put him on a golf cart.

But, police say Jackson got up and walked away ... and when cops told him to stop, he started running.

The 22-year-old was eventually caught and subdued ... and he was later hit with two charges -- felony escape and misdemeanor resisting arrest.

But, Jackson was able to get the felony charge dropped a couple weeks ago ... and now, we've  learned he's cut a deal to get the misdemeanor charge dropped too.

The Miami State Attorney's Office tells us Jackson has agreed to complete some kind of pre-trial diversion program in exchange for having the charge dropped.

The diversion program usually consists of either community service or some kind of life-improvement courses (like alcohol education or something like that) to help offenders grow from their legal mistakes without having a conviction on their record. 

Josh was the 4th overall pick in the 2017 draft by the Phoenix Suns. He earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors in his first season in the desert.

R. Kelly's alleged sex slaves should not be in danger of going hungry or becoming homeless anytime soon -- even with the singer behind bars -- but they claim someone's cut them off from Kelly's funding.

Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary have built up a nice nest egg during their time with Kelly by working as his assistants ... according to sources connected to the women and Kelly -- and they should have plenty of money to hold them over for awhile.

We're told while they were Kelly's live-in "girlfriends," they also helped him by handling bookings and other business matters, and he paid them for it. He also gave them a weekly stipend and they were able to save much of that cash because he paid for everything anyway.

Their problem has been getting access to that money. Their attorney, Gloria Schmidt, tells us one of Kelly's staffers typically gives Azriel and Joycelyn cash -- but she says since his arrest that staffer's gone MIA.

One thing they don't have to worry about is a roof over their heads. Our sources say Kelly's Chicago condo in Trump Tower is all paid up through the end of the year, so the women can live rent-free for several months.

We broke the story ... both women responded to reports they'd been evicted by recording a video showing them hanging out inside the home, telling everyone they're living there free and comfortably, as always.

The vid came 3 days after Kelly was busted in Chicago on 2 new federal indictments, including charges for multiple sex crimes, racketeering and obstruction of justice.

Both Azriel and Joycelyn's families have expressed concern for their daughters, with Joycelyn's parents saying they haven't been able to get in touch with her.

As we reported, it's no secret where they will be Tuesday -- not only will they attend Kelly's bond hearing in federal court in Chicago, but they are planning to hold a news conference afterward with their attorney, Gloria Schmidt.

R. Kelly's alleged sex slaves will be right behind the embattled singer Tuesday in federal court when he goes before a judge in his new sex crimes case, and they even plan to address the media.

Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary will present a united front during Kelly's bond hearing ... according to Gloria Schmidt, the attorney for the women.

After the hearing, we're told they, along with Schmidt, will hold a news conference to react to whatever happens inside the courtroom. As we've reported ... Kelly was arrested last week in Chicago on a new round of federal charges, including sex trafficking, obstruction of justice and racketeering.

Federal prosecutors in NY also want him there to face the 2nd federal indictment -- and they've made it clear to the court, they want Kelly held in custody through his trial.

Amid all the allegations they're Kelly's brainwashed sex slaves ... Joycelyn and Azriel continue to publicly support the singer -- just as they did back in February when they walked hand-in-hand into court. They sat in the first row, reserved for friends and family, during that bond hearing for his arrest on sexual abuse charges in Cook County.

Here's video of Dak Prescott lying to our face (though we understand why) ... telling TMZ Sports he doesn't know much about the criminal case involving his teammate, Ezekiel Elliott. 

Suuuuure ... 

The Dallas Cowboys QB insists we know more than he does when it comes to the security guard who's pressing charges against Elliott ... though that's hard to believe considering Dak and Zeke are BFFs. 

Prescott was out at Avra in Beverly Hills on Sunday night (one of the hottest restaurants in town) where we asked how Elliott was holding up after 19-year-old Kyle Johnson filed a criminal complaint against the RB for knocking him to the ground at the Electric Daisy Carnival. 

"You know more than me," Prescott repeatedly told us ... "Wasting your time."

Here's what we DO know ... Johnson went to the Las Vegas Metro Police Dept. this weekend over the May 19 altercation with Elliott. Unclear exactly what he's alleging, but it seems pretty obvious he's pursuing an assault charge. 

Elliott's legal team claims Johnson doesn't really care about justice -- insisting the 19-year-old is simply trying to extort the NFL star for money. 

The man who showed up at Chloe Grace Moretz's home uninvited -- 2 days in a row -- has been hit with trespassing charges, but he's off the hook for stalking.

The L.A. City Attorney's Office has charged 18-year-old Justin Alexander Behr with 4 counts of misdemeanor trespassing -- 2 counts each for the back-to-back incidents on June 30 and July 1. He was arrested after hopping Chloe's gate and knocking on the door, asking her family if she was there.

We broke the story ... the second time Behr was arrested for showing up at the house looking for Moretz came just 3 HOURS after he got out of jail for the first arrest.

He was booked for felony stalking for the second occurrence, but the law enforcement sources tell us law enforcement didn't think it rose to that level.