Jury finds Conor McGregor liable for paying S$348,000 to woman who alleged he raped her in December 2018 – Mothership.SG

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He said he would appeal the verdict.

November 23, 2024, 6:25 PM

A jury found Conor McGregor, 36, guilty of raping a woman after the victim filed a civil suit and took the case to trial.

The Irish mixed martial arts fighter has been ordered to pay more than €248,000 (S$348,000) in damages to the woman, Nikita Hand, 35, after it emerged he attacked her at a Dublin hotel in December 2018. BBC reported.

McGregor said he would appeal the verdict.

He went to X and thanked “all my support worldwide”.

“I am with my family now, focused on my future,” he wrote.

His full answer was:

“I have instructed my legal team to appeal today’s decision. The judge’s direction and the modest award given was for assault, there was no award for grievous or exemplary harm.”

“I am disappointed that the jury did not hear all of the evidence that the DPP reviewed. I am with my family and focused on my future.”

The jury took six hours to decide

The jury at the High Court in Dublin, made up of eight women and four men, deliberated on their decision for six hours and ten minutes before returning with the verdict: BBC added.

This was after eight days of evidence and three days of listening to closing speeches and the judge’s comments.

Reactions to verdict

McGregor shook his head after the jury read out the verdict.

He was accompanied by his partner Dee Devlin, his parents, his sister and his brother-in-law.

He sat between his partner and mother in the back row.

Hand, a mother of one, cried and was hugged by her partner and supporters. BBC observed.

Hand is also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin, and this was the name previously reported in the media.

There is another man involved

The claimant had also started a case against another man, James Lawrence, 35, who is also from Dublin.

She claimed he assaulted her by having sex with her at the Beacon Hotel without her consent.

The jury found that he had not assaulted her.

Both McGregor and Lawrence had previously denied the hair colourist’s claims, saying they had sex with her separately at the hotel almost six years ago.

What happened

On the day of the attack, Hand and her colleague Danielle Kealy went to the hotel’s penthouse suite with McGregor and Lawrence after their work Christmas party.

Hand and McGregor apparently knew each other for a long time, as they came from the same area with mutual friends.

They apparently partied all night from December 8 to the morning of December 9.

They drank heavily and used cocaine, the jury heard.

Hand told the court that McGregor tied her to a bed before attacking her.

She suffered extensive bruising and abrasions all over her body, including her hands and wrists.

There was a 3-inch bloody scratch on her chest and tender neck.

Hand said she was put in a “chokehold” by McGregor.

He denied injuring her and said she “dived” into the hotel room bath, which could have led to her injuries.

Hand was taken in an ambulance to a hospital in Dublin the next day.

She was examined in the sexual violence treatment department.

It was previously reported that on the night of the attack, Hand was wearing a tampon, which was “wedged inside”, requiring the use of tweezers to dislodge it.

The jury heard that Hand quit her job as a hairdresser and has since been unable to work due to her mental health.

They also learned that her relationship with her partner ended months after the incident, that she had to move and that her mortgage debt was overdue.

Top photo via Conor McGregor Facebook