Conor McGregor rape accuser rejects claim CCTV footage 'contradicts' her account
By Cate McCurry, PA
A woman who alleges she was raped by Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor in a Dublin hotel has rejected claims that CCTV footage “contradicts” her account of what happened.
Nikita Hand, who is also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin, is claiming civil damages against Mr McGregor and another man, alleging she was sexually assaulted in December 2018.
Ms Hand, who has no automatic right to anonymity, has accused Mr McGregor of pinning her to a bed and raping her in a hotel bedroom in Dublin.
On her third day of giving evidence at Dublin’s High Court, Ms Hand was cross-examined by Remy Farrell SC, defence barrister for Mr McGregor.
The mother-of-one was distressed and shaking while she was questioned by the barrister.
CCTV footage of the evening of December 9 2018 was replayed to the court, and shows Ms Hand in a lift with her friend, Mr McGregor and the second defendant James Lawrence.
Ms Hand told the court she has no memory of the footage and found it “very hard to watch”.
The court was also told that Ms Hand deleted text messages and asked some of her friends and family to delete text messages following the alleged assault.
Ms Hand said she did so because she was “afraid for her life”.
Ms Hand broke down in tears when she was asked to rewatch some of the CCTV footage from the evening of the alleged assault.
“It was very hard to watch and I don’t want to go through that again,” she told the court.
“I can’t remember it. It’s not me and it’s not my character. You can see how vulnerable I am. I don’t want to have to look at it again.
“It’s me but it’s not my character. It’s very disturbing for me.”
Mr Farrell put it to Ms Hand that the reason it disturbs her is because “everything in that CCTV footage contradicts the story you have told”.
But Ms Hand told the barrister she did not agree with him.
“That CCTV footage doesn’t take away from what happened to me in that room with Conor. I know what happened. I was brutally raped and battered by Conor and that CCTV doesn’t take away from what happened to me,” she added.
Mr Farrell also claimed that Ms Hand appeared to “kiss” Mr McGregor’s arm when they got into the lift to leave the hotel room.
Ms Hand said she does not remember what happened in the lift.
Mr Farrell also claimed that the CCTV footage shows Ms Hand hug Mr McGregor when they got into the lift, but Ms Hand said she could not see her hugging him.
Evidence also shows that a phone call was made from Ms Hand’s phone to Mr McGregor shortly before 6.30pm, after he had left the hotel.
Mr Farrell asked the plaintiff why she wanted to “have a chat” with Mr McGregor, a man she said “brutally raped” her.
Ms Hand told the court she did not remember ringing him and did not know why.
She said there was a lot of waiting around before she returned to the hotel room.
The court also heard that she had a “confrontation” with her then partner, Stephen, when she returned home after the alleged incident.
She said she told him what happened but did not tell him who it was.
The case continues.
