Jury in civil court finds Conor McGregor raped woman in hotel - and awards her damages
SUMMARY
A civil jury in Dublin's High Court found mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor guilty of raping Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel in December 2018, awarding her €248,603 (£206,000) in damages. The jury reached the verdict after deliberating for over six hours. Ms. Hand alleged McGregor pinned her to a bed, choked her multiple times, and "brutally raped and battered" her, leaving her with visible injuries, including bruises and scratches. McGregor, 36, denied the accusations, maintaining the encounter was consensual. His lawyers argued Ms. Hand's claims were an attempt at "extortion" and cited CCTV footage of her arriving and leaving the hotel with McGregor and a second man, James Lawrence. The jury rejected Ms. Hand’s separate claim against Lawrence. McGregor’s legal team urged jurors to focus on the evidence rather than McGregor's public persona. He made no comment as he left the courthouse after the verdict.
