A jury at a civil trial at Eire’s excessive courtroom has discovered that the Irish martial arts fighter Conor McGregor assaulted a lady who had accused him of raping her at a lodge in Dublin in December 2018.
McGregor was ordered pay practically €250,000 (£210,000) in damages to Nikita Hand, who’s also called Nikita Ní Laimhín.
Legal professionals for Hand had accused 36-year-old McGregor of brutally raping and battering her after she invited him to hitch her and a buddy at a piece Christmas social gathering within the Beacon Resort in Dublin in December 2018.
Hand additionally alleged that one other man, James Lawrence, who joined the social gathering, sexually assaulted her. The jury discovered that Lawrence didn’t assault Hand.
Talking outdoors the courtroom after the decision, Hand, 35, advised reporters that she was “overwhelmed” by the assist she had acquired. She thanked her household and a employees member from a rape disaster centre who had sat beside her all through “this entire period”, together with the two-week trial.
“I want to show [her daughter] Freya and every other girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person, is and justice will be served,” Hand stated.
“To all the victims of sexual assault, 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.”
She added that she hoped to rebuild her life now that the six-year ordeal was over.
Hand, who grew up in the identical space of Dublin as McGregor, took the civil courtroom case primarily to be vindicated, her barrister had advised the courtroom, after the director of public prosecutions determined to not pursue a legal case on the grounds that there was no cheap prospect of a conviction.
McGregor doubled over along with his head in his arms and shook his head because the jury returned their verdict and awarded Hand damages of €248,603.
There have been tense scenes in courtroom as McGregor arrived with a big supporter and household contingent together with his companion, Dee Devlin, his mom, Margaret McGregor, and sister Aoife McGregor, alongside along with his boxing coach, Philip Sutcliffe, standing on the again simply toes away from Hand.
McGregor had denied the allegations, saying that he had “fully consensual sex” with Hand. He additionally denied inflicting bruising to her. He advised the courtroom that Hand’s accusations towards him had been “full of lies” verging on “fantasy”.
Hand had advised the courtroom that she and a buddy made contact with McGregor, whom she knew, after a piece Christmas social gathering. She stated they had been pushed by McGregor to a celebration in a penthouse room of a south Dublin lodge, the place medicine and alcohol had been consumed. She stated McGregor took her to a bed room within the penthouse and sexually assaulted her. Hand’s lawyer, John Gordon, stated Hand was on antidepressants and “full of drugs” on the time of the alleged assault.
The decision is more likely to renew questions concerning the problem in bringing rape instances to courtroom. Hand’s barrister advised the courtroom this week that regardless of the final result she would “always be a marked woman” as a result of she had the “courage” to face as much as the fighter.
Hand had advised the jury that she was “absolutely devastated and let down” when the director of public prosecutions advised her they might not be progressing her file.
Over the 2 weeks of the trial, the jury heard harrowing accounts of the incident together with a 45-minute recording of a dialog by which a deeply distressed Hand advised her then boyfriend concerning the alleged rape.
The courtroom heard Hand saying McGregor had pinned her down on the mattress with all his physique weight, and claiming he had put her head in a headlock, mock-choking her 3 times in a “terrifying” episode.
