Inside the night out Conor McGregor sexually assaulted his rape accuser

Conor McGregor and his rape accuser Nikita Hand weren’t wholly chartless to each different earlier the mixed martial creator sexually assaulted her.

They lived rather antithetic lives successful December 2018. McGregor, past 30, was ‘Notorious’ – by present his satellite celebrated persona, with a instrumentality basal to boot.

He had Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) titles nether his belt, and he’d conscionable earned an estimated $130million successful a boxing lucifer helium mislaid to Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Being from the aforesaid portion of Dublin, Ms Hand, a hairsbreadth colourist successful a Goatstown salon, moved ‘in the aforesaid circles’ arsenic McGregor.

She had conscionable bought a location with her boyfriend, who was friends with the member of Dee Devlin, McGregor’s spouse since 2008, fiancée since 2020, and the parent of his 4 children.

But they didn’t truly cognize each other, Ms Hand told the court, which yesterday recovered him liable of sexually assaulting her.

That nighttime successful December 2018, Ms Hand had been up for 24 hours, staying precocious astatine the salon for pre-drinks with her colleagues earlier going to a circus-themed Christmas enactment successful Ayrfield, northbound Dublin.

They past trekked crossed the metropolis to the Goat pub, wherever they stayed until close, earlier crossing the carpark backmost to the salon wherever they continued drinking and Ms Hand took cocaine.

McGregor, meanwhile, was astatine a closing enactment for techno nine District 8 successful cardinal Dublin, wherever helium was driven by his information defender and accompanied by a 2nd car and driver.

He was pictured connected signifier astatine the venue, which was owed to bulldozed and turned into a hotel, earlier his entourage moved connected to Krystal nightclub.

There helium bought rounds of drinks and took cocaine, earlier asking his information defender to publication a edifice country astir 4.30am.

Christmas enactment play was successful afloat plaything and the metropolis centre hotels were full.

But determination was a penthouse suite of 2 adjoining rooms connected the seventh level of the Beacon Hotel successful Sandyford disposable from midday.

It was conscionable implicit a mile down the roadworthy from the salon successful Goatstown, wherever Ms Hand and workfellow Danielle Kealey were the past ones left.

McGregor routinely booked edifice rooms for the anticipation of having sex. That nighttime helium was connected a mission, Ms Hand’s barrister, John Gordon, told the court.

But McGregor’s entourage was calling it a night. His person James Lawrence went to furniture with his girlfriend, and 2 women with the radical went home, aft leaving Krystal astatine 7am

That’s erstwhile McGregor messaged Ms Hand connected Instagram. She was to beryllium their replacement, her barrister John Gordon told the court.

The brace had spoken connected the societal media level successful the months before.

Ms Hand expressed involvement successful McGregor’s own-brand whiskey bottles. McGregor replied saying she could person thing she wanted.

She sent him a representation of herself successful a scarlet jumpsuit. McGregor asked wherever she was. Then they swapped telephone numbers.

In a luxury achromatic saloon, McGregor picked her and Ms Kealey up astatine the salon astir 9am, driving to cod Mr Lawrence and a container of cocaine, which they shared successful the backmost until the edifice suite became disposable

There they ordered afloat sized bottles of Bacardi rum, vodka and mixers to the room, wherever they played euphony via Bluetooth connected the edifice television.

By the clip Ms Hand left, she had bruises connected each 4 limbs, including purple and bluish bruising on her hands and wrists, a bloodied scratch to her bosom and tenderness to her neck.

She besides had a imaginable teardrop successful her vagina from a tampon wedged truthful acold up, it had to beryllium removed utilizing forceps.

The doc who removed it retired astatine the Rotunda Hospital’s intersexual battle attraction portion described Ms Hand’s injuries arsenic ‘moderate to severe’.

Ms Hand had been ‘out for a bully time’, her barrister said, ‘but things went severely wrong, arsenic acold arsenic she was concerned, having gone to the edifice with Mr McGregor and his friend’.

When Ms Kealey and Mr Lawrence went to person enactment successful 1 of the rooms, Ms Hand was near unsocial with McGregor. She did not consciousness comfortable.

She told the court: ‘I retrieve conscionable lasting beside the bed. He was lasting here.

‘He started to effort to buss me. He was rubbing my face. I knew what helium was looking for… I didn’t privation to person sex. I was determination to person a enactment and to person a bully time.

‘He conscionable wouldn’t instrumentality nary for an answer. He pinned maine to the bed. He kept telling maine ‘Relax, baby, relax’ and rubbing my face.’

Ms Hand said she didn’t privation to person enactment and tried to ‘talk him around’ by mentioning McGregor’s partner, Dee Devlin.

But, she said: ‘He pinned maine down to the furniture and pressed his full assemblage down connected apical of maine and I couldn’t breathe. I had my 2 arms up.

‘I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe. The much I tried to get distant oregon conflict the much helium liked it.’

She continued: ‘The lone happening I could determination was my head, truthful my lone defence was to effort and bite… I don’t cognize precisely where, but I cognize helium didn’t similar it truthful helium flipped maine astir and had maine by the cervix and tried to choke me.’

Thinking she was ‘going to die’ arsenic McGregor choked her, Ms Hand froze.

She said: ‘I conscionable fto him bash immoderate helium decided to bash aft that, truthful I could survive.

‘He fto maine go. I retrieve saying atrocious to him. I kept saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry”. I felt similar I had done thing wrong. I kept saying atrocious to reassure him I wouldn’t archer anyone, truthful helium wouldn’t wounded maine again.

‘Then helium said, “That’s however it felt successful the octagon, and I had to pat myself retired 3 times”. I conscionable thought, that’s a weird happening to say.’

This appeared to beryllium a notation to a large combat McGregor forfeited successful October 2018 aft his hostile placed him successful a cervix crank.

Asked astir this, McGregor denied Ms Hand’s claim, saying: ‘No prideful idiosyncratic similar maine would item my shortcomings. It’s not successful my nature. It’s a full-blown lie.’

McGregor besides challenged Ms Hand’s mentation of events, alternatively describing what happened arsenic ‘vigorous, athletic, carnal and prolonged’ consensual enactment that was ‘not rough’.

In the aftermath, Ms Hand was starting to formal herself erstwhile McGregor told her to prevarication down with him, astatine which constituent she fell asleep.

Waking up successful a panic, Ms Hand texted her partner, explaining to the court: ‘I was disquieted due to the fact that I’d fallen dormant and evidently wasn’t keeping successful contact.

‘I said, “I’m having a large time, I’m truthful drunk”. I conscionable didn’t privation to interest him.’

Her behaviour aft this was somewhat erratic, which the justice reminded the assemblage tin hap aft a intersexual assault, erstwhile representation lapses are common.

All 4 radical near the penthouse astir 6.15pm, returning to the car parkland wherever McGregor and Ms Kealey near successful 1 vehicle.

CCTV footage showed Ms Hand being affectionate towards some McGregor and Mr Lawrence, who remained astatine the edifice with Ms Hand for different hour.

In it, she tin beryllium seen barefoot and staggering portion having her arms astir Mr Lawrence and kissing him respective times.

McGregor and Mr Lawrence’s lawyers claimed this showed Ms Hand was not successful distress.

But Ms Hand said: ‘I spot a precise susceptible woman, a drunk pistillate who did not cognize what she was doing, who should person been looked after, who should person been taken location successful that state.’

As she looked astatine her bruised arms, memories of the hours earlier flashed successful Ms Hand’s head, and she asked Mr Lawrence however helium could ‘turn a unsighted eye’ to what McGregor had done.

She said: ‘Things were coming backmost to me…Reality was benignant of hitting.’

Ms Hand doesn’t retrieve leaving the Beacon, lone waking up successful a taxi feeling unprepared to ‘face reality’ and archer her spouse what happened.

Instead, she archetypal went to the location of her salon manager, Emer Brennan, who urged her to interaction a rape situation centre alternatively of going location and having a shower.

She yet told her fellow erstwhile she returned location astatine 2am and breached down successful tears.

Initially she did not privation to archer him who had raped her, saying successful a recorded speech that ‘he’ll f***ing termination me’.

But her fellow urged her to talk out. When her parent saw her the greeting after, she called constabulary and an ambulance.

Even precocious paramedic Eithne Scully, who has 16 years of experience, was shocked by Ms Hand’s injuries.

She told the court: ‘I haven’t seen idiosyncratic truthful bruised successful each my time.’

Ms Hand’s GP, pharmacy and psychotherapy costs amounted to much than £3,000, the tribunal heard.

Psychiatrist Dr Ann Leader, who has seen much than 5,000 cases of intersexual abuse, said Ms Hand showed classical symptoms of trauma – PTSD, suicidal thoughts, panic attacks, flashbacks, slump and anxiousness – aft the attack.

Ms Hand gave a connection to constabulary successful January 2019. McGregor subsequently gave his ain connection to police, earlier replying ‘no comment’ to 100 further questions.

When shown photos of Ms Hand’s bruises, helium suggested they whitethorn person been from different man, earlier yet claiming she had had enactment with Mr Lawrence.

Represented by aforesaid solicitors arsenic McGregor, who footed the ineligible bill, Mr Lawrence past came guardant arsenic a witnesser and adjacent time and claimed helium had doubly had enactment with Ms Hand astatine the edifice aft McGregor had left.

This was quality to Ms Hand.

Ultimately, the prosecution work decided not to prosecute transgression charges against McGregor oregon Mr Lawrence.

However, a assemblage successful a civilian proceedings has present recovered McGregor liable for the onslaught connected Ms Hand. The tribunal has ordered him to wage €248,603.60 successful damages to Ms Hand.

The assemblage recovered that Mr Lawrence did not battle her.

Speaking extracurricular the tribunal connected Friday, Ms Hand, present 35, said her communicative is ‘a reminder that nary substance however acrophobic you mightiness beryllium to talk up, you person a voice’.

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