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Conor McGregor has been found by a jury to have assaulted Nikita Hand, the woman who accused the Irish UFC star of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018.
The jury said in its verdict on Friday, November 22 that McGregor assaulted Hand.
However, the jury also said in its verdict that James Lawrence, McGregor’s friend who Hand also accused, did not assault the woman.
Hand will be awarded damages of €188,603.60, plus €60,000, a total of €248,603.60. The issue of costs will be determined next week.
The jury, consisting of eight women and four men, deliberated for a total of six hours and ten minutes.
McGregor and his fiancee Dee Devlin were met by a media frenzy upon exiting the courthouse on Friday evening. McGregor did not make any comment.
BREAKING: Conor McGregor refuses to answer questions as he leaves Dublin’s High Court.
A jury in a civil court found the mixed martial arts fighter raped a woman in a Dublin hotel in 2018.
Warning: This video contains flash photography https://t.co/IDDerAtSxZ pic.twitter.com/WRKrSWi6Rk
— Sky News (@SkyNews) November 22, 2024
A tearful Hand told the press after the verdict that she was “overwhelmed” with the support she has received.
She went on to thank her legal team, the jury, the medical experts, the gardai, and her family.
She made special mention of her young daughter Freya, saying: “She has given me so much strength and courage over the last six years throughout this nightmare to keep on pushing on forward for justice.
“I want to show Freya and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is and justice will be served.
“To all the victims of sexual assault, I hope my story is a reminder that no matter how afraid you might be, speak up, you have a voice, and keep on fighting for justice.”
BREAKING: Nikita Hand speaks outside court. pic.twitter.com/H1K4eit8Ug
— Paul Healy (@Healyhack) November 22, 2024
The civil case against McGregor began at Dublin’s High Court on November 5.
In the case, Hand alleged that McGregor and Lawrence both had sex with her twice, without her consent, on December 9, 2018.
McGregor and Lawrence denied the allegations against them, labeling Hand a “gold digger” and a “fraud.”
The court heard that on December 9, 2018 – the day after her work party where she had been drinking and taking cocaine – Hand contacted McGregor to “keep the party going.”
McGregor, Hand, and another woman were driven to the Beacon Hotel in Dublin. During the drive, McGregor stopped at Lawrence’s house, where he picked up more cocaine which he shared with the women. Lawrence joined them to the Beacon.
The court heard that Hand was on her period at the time of the incident and wearing a tampon. Hand said she does not have sex while on her period.
Hand’s solicitor John Gordon SC told the court that McGregor went into a bedroom and wanted her to perform oral sex, but Hand refused. She said he then “pinned her onto the bed.”
“She was clearly no physical match for Mr. McGregor,” Gordon told the court.
“She will tell you that she was nervous. She tried to push him off her, but she was completely unable to do so.”
Gordon said that in the course of the tussle, the watch on her wrist scratched her breast as he pressed down on her. McGregor then turned her over, and put her in an arm lock, before drawing her up by the neck until she could not breathe, Gordon said.
Hand said McGregor told her: “Now you know what it was like in the Octagon. I had to tap myself out three times.”
Gordon said his client was “completely terrified.” He described it as a “violent, vicious assault” and said a doctor who examined her after the incident found her tampon “embedded in her vagina.”
Hand did not recall anything sexual happening between her and Lawrence until she was advised the following February that Lawrence said they had sex twice.
On the opening day of the civil case, Justice Alexander Owens told the jury: “Essentially the allegation in the statement of claim is that Mr. McGregor sexually assaulted Ms. Ni Laimhin [Hand] and in effect raped her on the night of December 2018, and that Mr. Lawrence did likewise.
“It is not a criminal case, it is a civil action for assault…if proven… the person is entitled to compensation, which is called damages.”