Conor McGregor must pay 250,000. dollars to a woman who claims he raped her, a civil court ruled

A woman who claimed to be a mixed martial arts participant Conor McGregor “brutally raped and beaten” in a Dublin hotel suite was awarded almost 250,000 euros ($257,000) by an Irish civil court on Friday.

Nikita Hand said the attack, which took place on December 9, 2018, after a night of partying, left her badly bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

McGregor testified that he never forced the woman to do anything against her will and said she fabricated the allegations after the two had consensual sexual intercourse. His lawyer called Hand a gold digger.

The fighter, once the face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship but with a strong career behind him, shook his head as a jury of eight women and four men found him liable for assault after about six hours of deliberations at the High Court in Dublin.

He was watched by cameras as he left court but made no comment. He later announced on the X social media platform that he would appeal the verdict and the “modest award.”

Hand’s voice cracked and her hands shook as she read a statement outside the courthouse in which she stated that she would never forget what happened to her, but now she would be able to move on with her life. She thanked her family, partner, friends, jurors, judge and all supporters who contacted her online, especially her daughter.

“Over the last six years, during this nightmare, she has given me so much strength and courage to continue to fight for justice,” she said. “I want to show (her) and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who that person is, and justice will be served.”

The Associated Press generally does not name alleged victims of sexual violence unless they come forward publicly, as Hand did. Under Irish law, she did not enjoy the same anonymity that would be afforded in criminal proceedings and was publicly named throughout the trial.

Her lawyer told jurors that McGregor was angry about the fight he lost 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. – He’s a sneaky coward and you should treat him as he is.

Gordon said his client was never pretending to be a saint and was just trying to have a good time when she sent McGregor a message via Instagram after attending a Christmas party. He said Hand knew McGregor socially and that they grew up in the same neighborhood.

She said he picked her and a friend up in the car and shared the cocaine with them, which McGregor admitted in court on the way to the Beacon Hotel.

Hand said she told McGregor that 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 eventually pinned her to the bed and she couldn’t move.

McGregor choked her and later said, “Now you know how I felt in the Octagon where I tapped out three times,” referring to the UFC match when he had to concede defeat, she said.

Hand had to take several breaks from giving emotional testimony over the course of three days. She said McGregor threatened to kill her during the meeting and she feared she would never see her daughter again.

He finally let her go.

“I remember saying I was sorry because I felt I had done something wrong and I wanted to assure him that I wouldn’t tell anyone so he wouldn’t hurt me again,” she testified.

She said she then let him do whatever he wanted and he had sex with her.

The paramedic who examined Hand the next day testified that she had never seen a person with such intense bruising before. A doctor told jurors that Hand had multiple injuries.

Hand stated that the trauma of the attack prevented her from working as a hairdresser, fell behind on her mortgage payments, and had to move out of her home.

Police investigated the woman’s complaint, but prosecutors declined to file charges, saying there was insufficient evidence and a conviction was unlikely.

In his post on X, McGregor expressed disappointment that the jury did not hear all the evidence that prosecutors reviewed.

He testified that they had athletic and energetic sex, but it was not rough. He said she “never said ‘no’ or stopped” and testified that everything she said was a lie.

“It’s a lie among many lies,” he said when asked about the choking allegations. “How could anyone believe that I, as a proud person, would highlight my flaws.”

McGregor’s lawyer told jurors they must put aside their dislike for the fighter.

“You may actively dislike him, some of you may even hate him – there is no point in pretending that the situation could be different,” said lawyer Remy Farrell. – I’m not asking you to invite him to Sunday brunch.

The defense said the woman never told investigators that McGregor threatened her life. They also showed the court surveillance footage they say shows the woman kissing McGregor on the shoulder and hugging him as they leave the hotel room. Farrell said she looked “happy, happy, happy.”

McGregor said he was “unbearable” when first interviewed by police and read a prepared statement. On the advice of his lawyer, he refused to answer more than 100 follow-up questions.

The jury returned a verdict against Hand in a case she brought against one of McGregor’s friends, James Lawrence, whom she accused of having sex with her in a hotel without her consent.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly presented the claim for which the jury found Conor McGregor liable. The jury found McGregor responsible for the assault.

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