Nikita Hand has been ordered to receive £206,000 in damages, after Conor Mcgregor is found guilty of assault in December 2018. Hand told the court how Mcgregor, who is a mixed martial arts and professional boxer, pinned her to the bed in a Dublin hotel room before assaulting her.
After the incident, Ms Hand had extensive bruising all over her body, including her hands and wrists – indicating he pinned her down. Moreover, there were marks left on her neck where Mcgregor placed her in a chokehold.
A paramedic who examined Ms Hand, told the court:
“I have not seen someone so bruised in a long time.”
Despite this, McGregor claimed the bruising was not caused by him, and could’ve been from “diving in the bath”
The trial had eight days of evidence, and three days of closing speeches, before the jury came to the verdict guilty.
The jury heard that the attack took place after Ms Hand and a colleague went to the hotel’s penthouse suite with Conor Mcgregor and James Lawrence after their work Christmas party. James Lawrence had also been accused of rape by Ms Hand, however was found not guilty.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decided that there would be no criminal prosecution taken against Mcgregor, saying there was “insufficient evidence”, which forced Ms Hand to take the civil case.
However, there is mounting pressure from the public for the DPP to review the evidence and re-consider.
Since the McGregor case began, Rape Crisis Centres in Ireland have experienced a high volume of first time calls.
The National Rape Crisis Helpline received an increase of 20% in calls, and 50% in first time callers in the first ten days of the trial.
Minister Carroll MacNeill, who is an Irish Politician and Minister of State for European Affairs, has commended the work of Rape Crisis Centres, and thanked them for their work.
She also stated that people around Ireland were disgusted by what they heard in court about Conor McGregor’s actions.
She described Ms Hand as an “incredible woman”.
Nikita Hand spoke to reporters outside the court after the verdict, making a powerful statement:
“I want to show [my daughter] Freya and every other young girl and boy that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is, and that justice will be served.”
Conor Mcgregor has shared plans to appeal the verdict on social media, also criticising the Irish Court.
After leaving the court Mcgregor was silent, however later posted on X that the court was ‘not a court of hard evidence and truth. It is a Kangaroo court of opinions and feelings’. The post has since been deleted.
