Mayorga released pending fraud trial in Nicaragua

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) -- Former welterweight champion Ricardo Mayorga was released from prison pending a trial on fraud charges.

Mayorga was set free early Saturday after his lawyer filed an injunction against his detention, national police spokesman Cesar Augusto Cuadra said.

The 33-year-old Mayorga was first arrested on Tuesday at Managua airport as he boarded a plane for Miami. He was jailed in Leon, 50 miles from Managua, on charges he never paid a local car dealer $56,000 for four cars.

Local prosecutors dismissed the case as a civil matter, and he was to be released. But before he was set free, he was arrested again on Thursday and jailed after three people accused him of writing bad checks worth $87,000.

Mayorga was convicted last year of raping a 22-year-old woman at a Managua hotel, but the boxer appealed the conviction to Nicaragua's Supreme Court. Nicaraguan laws allow Mayorga to remain free in the meantime.

Mayorga acknowledged having sex with the woman but said it was consensual.

Source: Sports Illustrated