Conor McGregor must pay $400k to woman who says he raped her, civil jury rules

A jury in an Irish civil court ruled on Friday that a woman who claimed mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor "brutally raped and assaulted" her in a penthouse at a Dublin hotel had won her case, awarding her nearly 250,000 euros (about $400,000 AUD) in damages.

Nikita Hand stated that the attack, which occurred after a late-night gathering on December 9, 2018, left her with multiple bruises and post-traumatic stress disorder. McGregor testified that he never forced the woman to do anything against her will and claimed she fabricated the allegations after they had consensual sex. His lawyers had called Hand a gold digger.

The once-signature figure of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, now past his prime, shook his head as the verdict was delivered after about six hours of deliberation by the jury of eight women and four men. He was surrounded by media reporters as he left the court but made no comment. He later stated on social media platform X that he would appeal the verdict and the “modest damages”.

Hand, her voice choked with emotion and her hands trembling, read a statement outside the court. She said she would never forget what happened to her but that she could now move on with her life. She thanked her family, partner, friends, the jurors, the judge, and all the supporters who had reached out to her online, especially her daughter. "She has given me immense strength and courage over the last six years to keep fighting for justice through this nightmare," she said. "I want to show (her) and every other girl and boy that if this happens to you, you can be brave and stand up, no matter who it is, and justice will be served."

The Associated Press generally does not publish the names of victims of sexual assault allegations unless they come forward publicly, as Hand has done. Under Irish law, she did not have the anonymity she would have had in criminal proceedings and was publicly named throughout the trial. Her lawyer told jurors that McGregor was angry about losing a fight in Las Vegas two months earlier and took it out on his client. “He’s not a man, he’s a coward,” lawyer John Gordon said in his closing argument. “A sly coward, and you should punish him accordingly.”

Gordon said his client never pretended to be a saint and was just looking for fun when she messaged McGregor on Instagram after attending a Christmas party. He said Hand knew McGregor socially, and they had grown up in the same area. She said he picked her up with a friend and shared cocaine with them on the way to the Beacon Hotel, which McGregor admitted in court.

Hand said she told McGregor she did not want to have sex with him and that she was menstruating. She said she told him "no" when he started kissing her, but he ended up pinning her to the bed, and she couldn't move. Hand said McGregor restrained her with a chokehold and later told her, “Now you know how I feel when I get beat three times in the octagon,” referring to having to admit defeat in a UFC fight. Hand had to take multiple breaks during her three days of emotional testimony. She said McGregor threatened to kill her during the sexual encounter, and she feared she would never see her young daughter again.

Eventually, he let her go. “I remember saying I was sorry because I felt like I had done something wrong, and I wanted to assure him I wasn’t going to tell anyone so he wouldn’t hurt me again,” she testified. She said she then let him do what he wanted, and he had sex with her. A paramedic who examined Hand the next day testified that she had never seen someone with such severe bruising. A doctor told jurors that Hand had multiple injuries.

Hand said the trauma from the assault made it impossible for her to continue working as a hairdresser, and she defaulted on her mortgage and had to move out of her home. Police investigated the woman's complaint, but prosecutors declined to pursue the case, citing insufficient evidence and a low likelihood of conviction. McGregor said in his X post that he was disappointed that the jurors did not see all the evidence reviewed by prosecutors.

He testified that the sex was intense but not rough. He said "she never said 'no' or stop," and testified that everything she said was a lie. "It's an outright lie, and there are many lies," he said when asked about the chokehold allegation. "How could anyone believe that I, a proud man, would highlight my shortcomings." McGregor's lawyer told jurors they had to put aside their dislike for the fighter.

“You might dislike him intensely, some of you might even hate him — it would be pointless to pretend that might not be the case,” lawyer Remy Farrell said. “I’m not asking you to invite him over for Sunday brunch.” The defense said the woman never told investigators that McGregor threatened her life. They also played surveillance video in court that allegedly showed the woman kissing McGregor's arm and hugging him after they left the hotel room. Farrell said she looked “happy, happy, happy”.

McGregor said he was “scared to death” when he was first questioned by police and read them a prepared statement. He refused to answer more than 100 follow-up questions on the advice of his lawyers. The jury ruled against Hand in a case she brought against a friend of McGregor’s, James Lawlor, whom she accused of having sex with her at the hotel without her consent.