MMA fighter Conor McGregor assaulted woman in hotel in Dublin, jury finds | Ireland

A jury at Ireland’s High Court has found that Irish martial artist Conor McGregor assaulted a woman who had accused him of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018.

McGregor was ordered to pay almost €250,000 (£210,000) in damages to Nikita Hand, who is also known as Nikita Ní Laimhín. The jury of eight women and four men reached its verdict after six hours and 10 minutes of deliberation.

The 36-year-old fighter had been accused of “brutally raping and raping” Hand. Hand’s lawyer told the jury that when she was referred to a sexual assault treatment unit the day after the alleged assault, a doctor was so concerned that he asked for pictures of her injuries to be taken.

McGregor denied the claim, saying he had “fully consensual sex” with Hand. He also denied causing the plaintiff’s bruises. McGregor, who was once one of the highest-paid sports stars in the world with a reputation worth $200 million, told the court that Hand’s allegations against him were “full of lies” that bordered on “fantasy”.

Hand said she and a friend contacted McGregor, who she knew, after a work Christmas party. She said they were driven by McGregor to a party in a penthouse room in a south Dublin hotel where drugs and alcohol were consumed. She said McGregor took her to a bedroom in the penthouse and sexually assaulted her. Hand’s lawyer, John Gordon, said Hand was on anti-depressants and “high on drugs” at the time of the alleged assault.

McGregor arrived in court on Friday with a large support and family contingent, including his partner, Dee Devlin, his mother, Margaret McGregor, sister Aoife McGregor, with his boxing trainer, Philip Sutcliffe, standing at the back just meters away from Hand.

The fighter took his seat and breathed deeply and audibly as Devlin and his mother held his hands as the verdict was delivered.

Hand, a 35-year-old hair dyer who grew up in the same area of ​​Dublin as McGregor, took the civil action primarily to be vindicated, her lawyer had told the court after prosecutors decided not to pursue a case. criminal case on the grounds that there was no reasonable prospect of a conviction.