Woman who won civil rape case against Conor McGregor takes legal action to stop him publishing CCTV footage shown in court
The woman who won a civil rape case against Conor McGregor is taking legal action to stop him publishing CCTV footage shown in court.
Nikita Hand was awarded more than €248,000 (£206,000) after a Dublin jury concluded the 36-year-old MMA megastar ‘brutally raped’ and ‘assaulted’ the ex-hair colourist in a Dublin hotel penthouse in December 2018.
Nikita told the High Court that McGregor ‘held her down’ on the bed, strangled her three times and left her thinking she was ‘going to die’.
“I just let him do what he had to do so I could survive,” she said of the attack during a Christmas after-party involving booze and cocaine.
She is now calling for CCTV footage showing her communicating with McGregor and his friend James Lawrence in the hotel lift and car park before and after entering the penthouse to be withdrawn.
Hand’s lawyer Siún Leonowicz, instructed by Coleman Legal Services, today said her client was trying to prevent the images from being published or distributed by way of an injunction.
Hand’s lawyer David Coleman said in an affidavit that local media had reported that Gabriel Ernesto Rapisarda, a business associate of McGregor, had indicated that there would be “imminent” publication of the CCTV footage used during the trial against her claim.
Rapisarda runs the Gabriel and Spirits company, which is responsible for distributing McGregor’s stout in Italy.
Nikita Hand (pictured) was awarded more than €248,000 (£206,000) after a Dublin jury concluded Conor McGregor ‘brutally raped’ and ‘assaulted’ her in a Dublin hotel penthouse in December 2018
Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor and partner Dee Devlin seen arriving at the High Court in Dublin on November 22, 2024 for the civil rape case against him
Coleman said Rapsardia wanted to publish the CCTV footage to boost sales of McGregor’s drink.
Under cross-examination at the trial, Hand denied that the footage contradicted her claims, adding that it was “very difficult to watch” because she was drunk and stumbling around, which was a far cry from her usual character.
Coleman said the publication of the images would be a “contempt of court” and that its “sole purpose” would be “to undermine and discredit the judgment of the court and thereby gain financial advantage.”
The lawyer said he was keen to ensure that the hearing on the injunction application was moved to Thursday so that the court could consider McGregor’s alleged ‘continued contempt’.
He added that Judge Alexander Owens, the judge overseeing the case, should appear in court as early as that day to address McGregor’s description of the court as a “kangaroo court” on social media.
During the trial, Hand saw massive public support, including a protest march held in central Dublin.
The demonstration was organized by the feminist group Rosa to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25.
Participants chanted “stand with Nikita” and “no more fear, no more shame – we reject victim blaming” as they carried signs and banners through the streets of the capital.
Natasha O’Brien, a participant in the protest, told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘I am here today to join Nikita in solidarity with the harrowing process she had to fight through with every bit of her.’
Last month, McGregor’s fiancée jumped to his defense with an angry social media tirade against Nikita.
Dee Devlin took to Instagram to launch a blistering attack on Ms Hand, telling her: ‘My sons will be warned that women like you exist in the world.’
In the messages, Ms Devlin portrayed Ms Hand as a party girl who had sent “provocative photos of herself” to McGregor.
McGregor lost a civil case brought by Nikita Hand, 35, (pictured), who won almost €250,000 in damages after claiming he raped her in a Dublin hotel on December 9, 2018
She then launched into an angry tirade aimed at Mrs Hand, making a series of astonishing accusations before adding: ‘My sons will be warned that women like you exist in the world.’
James Lawrence, co-defendant of mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor, had his legal costs paid by his friend. Ms Hand also accused McGregor’s boyfriend James Lawrence, 35, of attacking her that day. The jury found that Ms Hand was attacked by McGregor, but not by his co-accused Lawrence.
She wrote on Instagram: ‘Imagine a WOMAN, with her own boyfriend and child, texting provocative photos of herself to another woman’s husband with a family and a child on the way.
“This woman claims to know me, but still went ahead and sent messages and pictures of herself to my husband over and over again? Real?
“While on the road for three days, she texted apologies to her own child at home where mom is on Saturday afternoon, Saturday night, Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon, Sunday night to Monday morning.
“All this time out of her face in a hotel room, dancing around a hotel parking lot. What kind of WOMAN are you!!!
“My sons will be warned that there are women like you in the world.”
Ms Devlin, McGregor’s partner of 15 years, arrived at the hearings hand-in-hand with McGregor and comforted him as the verdict was handed down. She also claimed there was CCTV footage that would cast doubt on Ms Hand’s version of events.
She wrote: ‘CCTV DOES NOT LIE. I look forward to the day when the world will see the images of you that night and how you behave. No problem that you are having the time of your life.
“This is the real proof: video footage that no one knew was being taken at the moment you miraculously don’t remember?
“To me, it looks like you’re the one being sexually assaulted in the elevator. To me it seems like everyone is trying to get away from you.
“Conor and I addressed these issues privately many years ago, as any relationship should, and we have emerged stronger than ever. We now have four beautiful children whose smiling faces and happy hearts are a testament to who he is and who we are!
“They cast the first stone without sin.”