A jury at Ireland’s high court has found that the Irish martial arts fighter Conor McGregor assaulted a woman who had accused him of raping her at a hotel in Dublin in December 2018.
McGregor was ordered pay nearly €250,000 (£210,000) in damages to Nikita Hand, who is also known as Nikita Ní Laimhín. The jury of eight women and four men reached its verdict after six hours and 10 minutes of deliberation.
The 36-year-old fighter had been accused of “brutally raping and battering” Hand. Hand’s lawyer told the jury that when she was referred to a sexual assault treatment unit the day after the alleged assault, a doctor was so concerned that he directed that photographs be taken of her injuries.
McGregor denied the allegation and said that he had “fully consensual sex” with Hand. He also denied causing bruising to the plaintiff. McGregor, who was once one of the highest-earning sports stars in the world worth a reputed $200m, told the court that Hand’s accusations against him were “full of lies” verging on “fantasy”.
Hand said that she and a friend made contact with McGregor, who she knew, after a work Christmas party. She said they were driven by McGregor to a party in a penthouse room of a south Dublin hotel where drugs and alcohol were consumed. She said McGregor took her to a bedroom in the penthouse and sexually assaulted her. Hand’s lawyer, John Gordon, said Hand was on antidepressants and “full of drugs” at the time of the alleged assault.
McGregor arrived in court on Friday with a large supporter and family contingent including his partner, Dee Devlin, his mother, Margaret McGregor, sister Aoife McGregor along with his boxing coach, Philip Sutcliffe, standing at the back just feet away from Hand.
The fighter took his seat breathing deeply and audibly as Devlin and his mother held his hands while the verdict was being delivered.
Hand, a 35-year-old hair colourist who grew up in the same area of Dublin as McGregor, took the civil court case primarily to be vindicated, her barrister had told the court, after the director of public prosecution decided not to pursue a criminal case on the grounds there was no reasonable prospect of a conviction.
