Cristiano Ronaldo said he "firmly" refuted the charge of sexual assault filed in a lawsuit filed in Las Vegas last week, adding that he had "enlightened" conscience.

The statement sent to USA TODAY Sports and published on Ronaldo's official Twitter account on Wednesday morning was the first in the media since Kathryn Mayorga sued Ronaldo and his representatives for an assault that allegedly took place in a hotel room in Las Vegas in 2009.

Ronaldo, who currently plays for Italian club Juventus F.C., has called claims in the civil lawsuit filed in Clark County District Court (Nev.) "False information" on social media this weekend.

"I strongly deny the charges against me," Ronaldo said in his statement on Wednesday. "Rape is an abominable crime that goes against everything I am and what I believe in. Wanting to make a name for myself, I refuse to feed the media show created by people seeking to promote themselves at my expense. My clear conscience will allow me to wait with peace of mind the results of all investigations. "

A Las Vegas police spokesman told USA TODAY Sports earlier this week that he had reopened an investigation at Mayorga's request. Mayorga testified that he was sexually assaulted by the police a few hours after the alleged incident of June 13, 2009, and underwent a sexual abuse examination.

Mayorga, however, did not appoint a suspect at the time and chose not to pursue the case, which his lawyer alleged in the trial on Friday, largely because of the actions of Ronaldo's representatives that led to a settlement of $ 375,000.

"Cristiano Ronaldo and the team of repairers, knowing that the plaintiff was a vulnerable and severely emotionally injured person … repeatedly threatened to falsely and publicly accuse him of giving his consent to sex with the defendant to charge the defendant with sexual assault to get money, "wrote attorney Leslie Mark Stovall in the lawsuit.