A lady who accused Conor McGregor of raping her has mentioned “justice has been served” after she received her civil case in opposition to the Irish blended martial arts fighter.
Nikita Hand has been awarded €248,603 (£206,000) in damages after a jury at Dublin’s Excessive Court docket discovered McGregor assaulted her in a Dublin resort in 2018.
McGregor, 36, made no remark as he swiftly left court docket following the choice on Friday night.
He later mentioned in an announcement that he had instructed his authorized staff to attraction the civil court docket’s choice, including he was “disenchanted that the jury didn’t hear all of the proof that the director of public prosecutions reviewed”.
He ended the assertion saying: “I’m with my household, targeted on my future.”
McGregor had beforehand informed the court docket he had consensual intercourse with Ms Hand in a penthouse on the Beacon Lodge in December 2018.
‘Irrespective of who the individual is, justice shall be served’
Talking outdoors court docket after the choice, an emotional Ms Hand mentioned the final two weeks of her civil case in opposition to the fighter have been a “nightmare” and has impacted not solely her life however her daughter’s, pals and family members.
“I wish to begin off by saying I am overwhelmed and touched by the help I’ve obtained from everyone,” the mother-of-one mentioned.
“It is one thing that I am going to always remember for the remainder of my life.
“Now that justice has been served, I can now attempt to transfer on and look ahead to the longer term with my household and pals and daughter.”
Ms Hand continued: “I hope my story is a reminder that irrespective of how afraid you may be: Converse up, you will have a voice and carry on combating for justice.
“You’ll be able to get up for your self if one thing occurs to you – irrespective of who the individual is – and justice shall be served.”
Ms Hand informed the civil court docket McGregor pinned her to a mattress, choked her 3 times and “brutally raped and battered” her.
The jury was informed she was left with in depth accidents, together with purple and blue bruising alongside her fingers and wrists, a bloodied scratch to her breast and tenderness to her neck.
However attorneys for the fighter contested the lawsuit and accused her of tried “extortion”.
They pointed to CCTV footage of Ms Hand arriving at and leaving the resort with McGregor and a second man, James Lawrence, whom she additionally accused of assault.
Each McGregor and Lawrence denied any wrongdoing. Whereas Ms Hand received her case in opposition to McGregor, she misplaced her declare in opposition to Lawrence.
Break-in at house
Initially of the trial – when no jury was current – the court docket heard a bunch of masked males broke into Ms Hand’s house, smashed home windows and stabbed her boyfriend on 14 June.
Ms Hand’s counsel John Gordon mentioned they weren’t “laying that on the toes of the defendants or saying they’ve something to do with that”.
“We do make the declare that it was not an untargeted assault, (it) rose from supporters of the primary named defendant (McGregor),” he added.
“It’s associated to the declare that she needed to transfer out of the Drimnagh space.”
The choose dominated it to be “utterly irrelevant and should not be referred to” in the course of the trial.
On Monday, McGregor’s authorized staff informed jurors it didn’t matter if they didn’t like and even loathed the well-known fighter, urging them to take a look at the proof and never his character.
McGregor and Ms Hand knew one another and had sometimes been involved on social media, the civil trial heard.
Earlier than the assault, Ms Hand had contacted the fighter, who picked up her and a pal in his automobile.
McGregor “got here on to her”, however she didn’t need to have sexual activity with him as she was on her interval, the court docket heard.