Vile details of Conor McGregor court case, why he won't face jail and next steps

Conor McGregor has lost his civil car against Nikita Hand, who accused the UFC fighter of raping her, with the Irishman ordered to pay more than £200,000 in damages, although he intends to appeal

Conor McGregor has lost his civil case against a woman who accused him of raping her against as she claimed damages in a civil case.

A jury found that the Irish MMA star assaulted Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel in December 2018 and he has been ordered to pay her more than £200,000 in damages.

A jury at the High Court in Dublin had been deliberating for a day before they returned its verdict and deemed that McGregor did assault Ms Hand.

She had also taken a case against another man, James Lawrence, alleging that he assaulted her by having sex with her without her consent in the Beacon Hotel. The jury found that he did not assault her.

The case began on November 5 as both parties put forward their cases. Both men had denied the claims by the 35-year-old hair colourist and said they separately had consensual sex with Hand at the hotel almost six years ago.

The case

The court previously heard that on the day of the attack, Hand and her work colleague, Danielle Kealy, went to the penthouse suite with McGregor and Lawrence after their work Christmas party.

They gave evidence where they stated they had been partying all night from December 8 and into the morning of December 9, and had been heavily drinking and taking cocaine.

Hand told the court how McGregor had pinned her to the bed in the hotel bedroom before assaulting her. Hand said she thought she would never see her young daughter again when McGregor was “choking” her.

She said she had held up both hands and had tried to get away from him, but said the more she struggled, the more he appeared to like it.

“The only thing I could move was my head. I bit him but I can’t remember where. He didn’t like it, so he flipped me around and put his arm around my neck and choked me,” she said.

Ms Hand had also been worried about a tampon she had been wearing on the night she was assaulted. Dr Daniel Kane, a gynaecologist as well as a forensic examiner in sexual assault cases, explained how he had to use forceps to remove the tampon which had been “wedged inside”.

A paramedic who examined Hand the day after the assault had told the court she had not seen “someone so bruised” in a long time.

Hand was left with extensive bruises and abrasions over her body. McGregor denied he caused the bruising across her body, saying they could have been caused when she “swan dived” into the bath in the hotel room.

The court heard Hand suffered serious physical and psychological injuries as a result of the attack by McGregor and that she had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Hand broke down several times as she gave evidence for almost three days and sought a number of breaks.

Verdict

The jury delivered its verdict on Friday. The total amount of damages awarded to Hand by the jury was €248,603 (£206,714) and she said, outside court, that she hoped her case would serve as motivation to other victims of assault as she urged them to keep “pushing forward for justice”.

She said: “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. I know this has impacted not only my life, my daughter’s, my family and friends tremendously.

“It’s something that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life. Now that justice has been served, I can now try and move on and look forward to the future with my family and friends and daughter.”

Asked if she felt vindicated after the jury’s decision, she said: “Yes, I do. Thank you.”

Accuser targeted

Hand though has been forced to move house after a break-in by a group of men in balaclavas, who are thought to be supporters of the UFC fighter. They stabbed her boyfriend while their baby slept next door with the horrific story being told during the trial.

With no jury present, her counsel, John Gordon, told Judge Alexander Owens that the incident had happened on June 14 this year - although there was no suggestion that McGregor had anything to do with the break in.

“The plaintiff's home was invaded by a group of men wearing balaclavas,” Gordon said. “They broke into the plaintiff's bedroom, and were driven out by the plaintiff's partner, who suffered a stab wound in the process. Her daughter was in the next room, sleeping.”

He continued: “We are not laying that at the feet of the defendants, or saying they have anything to do with that. “We do make the claim that it was not an untargeted attack, [it] arose from supporters of the first named defendant [Mr McGregor]. It is related to the claim that she had to move out of the Drimnagh area."

Plans to appeal

McGregor said nothing as he left court but later said he intends to appeal. The Irishman shook his head after the jury read out that Hand had won her case against him as he cut an emotional figure.

He said: "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."

McGregor was accompanied by his family, including his partner Dee Devlin, who left the court in tears, his parents, sister and brother-in-law. He sat in the back row of the court between his partner and his mother, Margaret.

No prison for McGregor

Despite the ruling and the huge publicity surrounding the case McGregor will not face jail time.

Whilst he lost his sexual assault civil case, which will see him pay his accuser over £200,000 in damages, McGregor won't be imprisoned since the trial was civil, not criminal, after Ireland's director of public prosecutions decided against filing criminal charges against him.

In Irish civil law, parties are not granted automatic anonymity during court proceedings, unlike in criminal cases.