Woman who accused Conor McGregor of raping her wins case against him

A woman has won her claim in civil court against Conor McGregor after accusing him of raping her.

The case was tried in a High Court in Ireland after a woman sought damages for assault. McGregor, 36, will be made to pay £200,000 in damages.

The alleged incident took place in a Dublin hotel six years ago in December 2018. The Irish MMA fighter was accused of pinning Nikita Hand to a bed, choking her three times, and 'brutally' raping and 'battering' her.

McGregor denied any wrongdoing.

She was also in court for a separate charge of sexual assault against McGregor's friend, James Lawrence, who also denied any wrongdoing.

Hand lost the case against Lawrence, however, she was successful in her application for damages against McGregor.

This comes after eight days of evidence and three days of speeches, with a twelve person jury started their deliberations yesterday.

Jury members were told how she was left with 'extensive injuries', including tenderness on her neck, bloody scratches on her chest, and purple bruising around her hands and wrists, as per Sky News.

The trial heard how the pair knew each other and had occasional contact through social media.

Before the alleged incident, he'd picked her and a friend up in his car, the court heard.

She revealed in court how he 'came on to her', with her rejecting his advances due to the fact that she was on her period.

However, McGregor's lawyers contested the allegations, and accused Hand of attempted 'extortion'.

McGregor had previously claimed that himself and Lawrence both had consensual sex with her.

The UFC fighter provided no comment as he left the courthouse in Dublin.

On Monday (18 November), McGregor's legal team had encouraged jurors to try put aside if they disliked, or even 'loathed' the fighter, who is a controversial figure in Ireland.

Hand said that he 'would not take no for an answer', RTE reports. She also claimed that Mr Lawrence had sex with her without her consent, a claim he denied, stating they had consensual sex.

She states she did not remember this, and called it a 'made-up story', as per the BBC.

The verdict came to a silent courtroom, with Mr Justice Owens presiding stating that 'anyone who makes a scene [would] find themselves in jail'.

Hand was emotional, hugging her partner and friends in tears after the judge and jury left the court room.

Ms Hand also provided the following statement from outside court in which she thanked her family and partner, her legal team, and doctors and nurses at a sexual assault clinic she visited.

Conor McGregor tweeted the following in response to the jury verdict:

"I will be appealing today's decision. The judge's instruction and the modest award given was for assault, not for aggravated or exemplary damages.

"I am disappointed that the jury did not hear all the evidence that the DPP reviewed. I am with my family now, focused on my future. Thank you to all my support worldwide."

LADbible has contacted McGregor's representatives for comment.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.