Woman suing Conor McGregor for civil assault denies having 'pleasurable sex' with him

A woman who claims she was ‘raped’ by Conor McGregor has denied having “pleasurable sex” with him twice - and then sex with another man two further times. Nikita Hand was into her third day in the witness box in the High Court where she is suing Mr McGregor and James Lawrence - who both deny her claim of assault at the penthouse suite Beacon Hotel in Sandyford, Dublin on December 9 2018.

Former hair colourist Ms Hand (35) from Drimnagh in Dublin, who is suing for damages, was being questioned by John Fitzgerald SC for Mr Lawrence about what occurred on the day - and about her claim that after she says she was ‘raped’ by McGregor, that she fell asleep for some time.

Mr Fitzgerald put it to the witness that she had claimed when she woke up and checked her phone that it was sometime around 6pm - meaning she was asleep "for something in the region of 5 hours". He put it to Ms Hand that what she stated was “not right” and that she wasn’t asleep during that period.He suggested to the witness that in that time period “a lot went on” between herself, Conor McGregor, James Lawrence, and her friend Danielle - who was also present in the penthouse suite. He put it to the witness that during that time she and Mr McGregor were “being very affectionate towards each other.

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“You were pulling out of each other. You were happy and laughing with Mr McGregor and at some point you and Mr McGregor went from the first room into the bedroom,” he said. Mr Fitzgerald further suggested that Ms Hand and Mr McGregor went into the room to have sex, that the door separating the living area and the bedroom remained open and that “you could be heard clearly having sex. There were moaning noises, noises that suggested you were having a good time not a bad time,” he said.He further suggested that Danielle had told Ms Hand that she was "going to regret this" because she had just bought a house. Ms Hand said she denied those claims and could not recall the exchange with Danielle but confirmed that she had at the time just purchased a house with her then boyfriend Stephen.

07.11.2024 -Photo Shows Nikita Ni Laimhin pictured arriving at the High Court in Dublin this morning
(Image: Collins Courts)

Mr Fitzgerald continued by saying that while Ms Hand was in the bedroom with McGregor having “pleasurable sex,” that Mr Lawrence and Danielle were having sex in the other room. He put it to Ms Hand that she was “coming in and out of the bedroom” and that she saw this happen on multiple occasions. Ms Hand responded by saying: "This is another made up story."

Mr Fitzgerald suggested to the witness that when she came out of the bedroom and into Danielle and Mr Lawrence that she did not appear distressed. He further stated that what was occurring went on for some time - enough time so that Mr Lawrence, he said, had sex three times with Danielle.He also put it to the witness that Mr Lawrence could “see through the open door” Ms Hand on top of Mr McGregor “having sex for a second time.” Ms Hand stated in court in response that this claim was “lies.”She further denied a claim put to her by Mr Fitzgerald that she had called Mr Lawrence a “dirty bastard” for “licking out” Danielle - calling it “disgusting.” He further put it to the witness that his own client - Mr Lawrence - went on to have sex with her (Ms Hand) two times that day.He told the witness that Mr Lawrence had made a statement to gardai on January 18, 2019 in which he said he had sex with her on two occasions. Ms Hand, who had given a statement about being ‘raped’ by Conor McGregor on January 5th, acknowleged that she was then called back in by gardai on February 4th - where she was then asked about Mr Lawrence’s claims.Ms Hand said she was also shown CCTV stills on that occasion but she told gardai she had “no memory” of it. Mr Fitzgerald read back Ms Hand’s statement to the court earlier this week where she said she was “shocked” by Mr Lawrence’s claims and that she had “no problem with James and then he goes and says things like that.”Mr Fitzgerald asked Ms Hand if she does not believe Mr Lawrence - to which she responded: "I think he's lying. "You think he's lying about having sex with you,” Mr Fitzgerald responded. "Absolutely,” Ms Hand said.He further questioned her abouther evidence that she remembers clearly telling Mr Lawrence back in the hotel room that “you’s all turn blind eyes to what Conor does to women.” He asserted it was “strange” that Ms Hand could just remember that and also his alleged response to her that he couldn’t believe she was in that room and “I was here when that was happening to you.”

07.11.2024 - Photo Shows Tony McGregor (Conor McGregor's father ) and Conor McGregor arriving at the High Court in Dublin this morning
(Image: Collins Photos)

Ms Hand responded by saying it was just stuck in her head - and went on to state that footage shown to her on CCTV of her in and out of the lift with Mr Lawrence was something she had no memory of. She was asked about footage of her in the hotel elevator at 6:51pm and whether the memory of the alleged rape by McGregor had “hit” her at that stage.Ms Hand said she had no memory of the footage which showed her wearing a fur jacket and in the lift. Mr Fitzgerald put it to her that she got the coat from the room 10 minutes prior - and asked her if it had hit her then. “It doesn't look like it hit you,” he said.Mr Fitzgerald went on to state that in the lift footage Ms Hand is hugging, kissing and biting Mr Lawrence in the clip and that it dos not look like it has hit her that she has allegedly earlier been “violently raped.” Ms Hand, who asserted that she looked “very drunk” in the footage was then shown further CCTV of her coming down in the lift at 7:02pm.Mr Fitzgerald stated that the clip showed Ms Hand "leaving the hotel with a driver and Mr Lawrence” and returning again at 7:29pm. "It clearly shows you leaving and returning. You might not remember now but the camera doesn't lie,” Mr Fitzgerald said.Further footage he said at 10:17pm showed her leaving “arm in arm” with Mr Lawrence and he asked her if by this point if as she said she had had that conversation with him in the room. "You don't look in that clip as somebody who is distressed having been 'violently raped' earlier," Mr Fitzgerald told her - adding that it does not look like someone who has just been “hit by a steam train” of memory. Ms Hand stated that she did not agree with Mr Fitzgerald on this.She was further cross examined about her interview with a Detective Sergeant White when she was asked if she was attracted to Mr Lawrence and had responded with an “emphatic not at all.” Showing footage of her in the lift at 6:20pm with Mr Lawrence, Mr Fitzgerald said he was suggesting to her that she could be seen “touching him there in a playful manner."

James Lawrence arriving at the high court
(Image: Mick O'Neill/Daily Mirror/Irish Daily Star)

Ms Hand responded by saying she could see that but she was "really, really drunk" then and that her mind was gone. Showing another clip from the CCTV, Mr Fitzgerald said it showed Ms Hand “kissing Mr Lawrence. “He's not kissing you. You're putting your arm around him,” he said, further claiming that it looks like the “opposite” of her claim that she was not attracted to Mr Lawrence.Ms Hand at this point in the courtroom stated that she cannot look at any more CCTV footage and presiding Judge Alexander Owens stated that the jury can ultimately look at the footage “endlessly” if they wish and that we are just going to get the same answers from Ms Hand regarding it at this stage.Ending his cross examination of the witness Mr Fitzgerald put it to her that she had told Mr Lawrence that she “always liked him” and that she “really liked him for a long time.” Ms Hand denied the claim and a further claim that when in the car with Mr Lawrence that she had asked to go to the Marble Arch pub and continue the party.Mr Fitzgerald put it to Ms Hand that she had had “consensual sex” with Mr Lawrence - something Ms Hand said was a “made up story.” Mr Fitzgerald suggested that, after the food Ms Hand says she had in the hotel room, Mr Lawrence had been given two condoms and they had sex again.He said this was "for the first and only time" that she became "upset about anything" when she asked Lawrence what she was going to tell her boyfriend about the bruising. Ms Hand stated that she probably did say that but that she was very drunk. Mr Fitzgerald then said that Ms Hand is "attempting to edit Mr Lawrence out of this case and he has brought himself back into it". He further claimed that she does have a memory of events but that it "wasn't a good look" for someone accusing another man of rape to have had consensual sex with another man after.Earlier in the day Judge Owens warned members of the public in the gallery about recording the events after the court was notified that someone was pointing a mobile phone at the jury yesterday. The jury had alerted the judge that they had seen someone in the public gallery pointing the phone and they had expressed concern that photos or filming would be circulated.Judge Owens said taking photos or recording the proceedings is contempt of court and asked that a garda be present in the public gallery. "It is a contempt of court to take photos of the jury - it is totally unacceptable - and there will be steps taken in the event that anyone is suspected of that," the Judge said.Emer Brennan - the woman Ms Hand stated she went to after the alleged rape, also took the witness stand on Friday. Ms Brennan stated that she went to the same work Christmas party as Ms Hand and that they ended up going back to the salon in Goatstown where she remained until 7am on the morning of December 9th.Her next contact, she said, with Ms Hand was a phone call from Ms Hand that night where the complainant was “crying” and told her she would be at her door in a minute. She told the court that in the interim she received a text from Ms Hand in which she said she was in a hotel with “Mr McGregor” and that he “raped” her and “how will I explain this to Ste.”Ms Brennan said she sat Ms Hand down on her couch, that she was trying to comfort her, put her hair in a bobbin and asked her what had happened. “She looked shook. I took off her coat, and could see bruises on her arms and I asked her what happened,” she said.The witness said Ms Hand told her the incident happened in the ‘Morgan’ Hotel and that “somehow” she and McGregor ended up in the bedroom and he was “trying it on.” Ms Brennan said Ms Hand told her she was not comfortable with this, that she had a boyfriend but that Mr McGregor kept trying it on.She recalled Ms Hand telling her she “bit him twice and that the second time was harder,” and that when she did that he came behind her “grabbed her by the neck with his arm,” and that he “choked her three times.” “She decided to stop fighting, gave up and let him do what he wanted,” she told the court.

Nikita Hand pictured leaving at the High Court in Dublin

"She said she let him do what he wanted and when it was all over they lay on bed together. She said it sounds weird but that part was actually nice because everything was all over.” She further stated that Ms Hand told her she saw people come into room and she jumped up because she "thought she was going to be gang raped.”She had told her she looked for Danielle but she wasn’t there and told Conor’s friend ‘do you turn a blind eye for what he does to women.’ Ms Brennan said Ms Hand told her she “ran off” and ended up getting a taxi."She told me she did have a tampon in. And that she thinks it inside her. She was crying over that. She had said what am I going to do. I said you probably have to go to the rape crisis centre and if you do go there, it's probably best not to have a shower,” Ms Brennan said. She also confirmed that she saw bruises on Ms Hand’s body and that after asking Ms Hand, she took five or six photos of her body.Under cross examination from Remy Farrell SC for Conor McGregor, Ms Brennan confirmed she took notes of her encounter with Ms Hand two weeks later - stating that it was “in case it went out of my head.” Mr Farrell asked Ms Brennan about her claim that Ms Hand told her of her fear of being gang raped, that when she looked for Danielle she wasn’t there - and that when she got down into the car park she was “so concerned that a security guard was going to rape her that she 'runs off'."The senior counsel asked Ms Brennan if she considered that to be significant enough to take a note of to which the witness confirmed it was. She also confirmed that she deleted text messages after being asked by Ms Hand and said she could not remember if she told gardai.Reading back her statement to gardai Mr Farrell noted that she had cited news articles about a “famous sportstar” who had “raped a girl,” and that she told officers that she was the one who decided to delete the texts. Ms Brennan responded by saying that “maybe” she did tell gardai that and told the court that she was “under an awful lot of pressure here,” and that at the time she was “frantic” about the media attention so she wanted to delete them anyway.Detective Sergeant John Ryan, who confirmed he spoke with Ms Hand in the Rotunda Hospital the day after the alleged rape, was the final witness of the day. Detective Sergeant Ryan, who was working in Sundrive Garda station, referred to notes taken on the day and said he first went to Ms Hand’s mother’s home at 8:45am. His notes stated the words ‘DFB’ for Dublin Fire Brigade, who attended the scene - and the word ‘rape.’The detective Sergeant said his notes state Ms Hand spoke to him in the Rotunda and stated that she “remembers rape” and that she “tried to fight.” His notes went on to say that she “remembers rape, tried to fight suspect, he choked her in chokehold few times, thought he would kill her, therefore stopped struggling. They further stated that she “knows suspect,” is “terrified of him,” and is “afraid for me and my family.”The notes state she said she was “raped by one male (she thinks), but remembers two other males in the room.” “Got taxi home on own. Woke up in bed but can't remember going to sleep." Referring to further notes made while Ms Hand was also in the presence of Dr Kane, the Detective Sgt said the complainant had stated she was on depression meds and had drank vodka, bacardi and cocaine.She had “no idea what time the incident occurred,” that she “got home at 2am,” had went to a friend’s house before she got home. The notes stated she said the incident occurred before 2am, that she remembers “being in hotel room, and remembers trying to fight off the suspect and that she “definitely bit him a few times.”The Detective’s notes also stated that the “suspect tried to choke the injured party,” and that she “stopped breathing on three to four occasions.” They stated that her knuckle was “bruised from punching the suspect,” that the “suspect held her in a chokehold,” and that she had lost nails when trying to fight the suspect. The notes go on to state that Ms Hand said she “thought he would kill her, therefore she stopped struggling.”His notes said she was “afraid to name” the suspect and said she remembers waking up with him in bed and “couldn’t understand how she fell asleep.” The notes said Ms Hand said the suspect was white and Irish and that he told her not to fight against him - and that she was kissed, vaginally raped, the suspect “ejaculated” and she was “orally raped.” His notes also read that the “IP had tampon on at time of incident and tampon still in” and that she had not had a shower since.The detective sergeant told the court that Ms Hand ultimately told him back at the house that she was not pressing charges and refused to make a statement at that stage.Earlier in the day Mr Farrell SC for Conor McGregor concluded his cross examination of Ms Hand by stating that she had told a “web of lies.” He stated that she “never once” told gardai in interview that his client threatened her - despite what she said to her then boyfriend in a recorded conversation."You told Ste on a number of occasions, you said he told me he'd kill me. That was a reference to Mr McGregor isn't that right,” he asked, to which she confirmed. He also read out a text she sent to her then partner saying she was sharing a taxi with Ms Brennan - and asserted to her that she was again telling him lies. Ms Hand said she agreed that she did lie to her boyfriend - saying she was “confused and traumatised.”Mr Farrell said that on the recording she appeared to be “quite desperate” for her then boyfriend to believe her lies and that when he challenged her she was doubling down. “I was very upset. Again I agree with you but it doesn't take away what happened to me,” Ms Hand said.In the recording Ms Hand had stated to Ste that she bit Conor McGregor on the face - and Mr Farrell asserted that when she was in a lift with his client “face to face” surely she would remember whether he had a bite mark. Ms Hand responded by saying she was not going to remember everything and that she was "traumatised and in pain" and said she had no recollection of seeing his face.He also suggested to Ms Hand that when McGregor was driving her and Danielle around they were looking for another man to join them for what he said he was hesitating to call a “double date.” "I'm not sure what he was thinking. I can't answer that,” she said.Mr Farrell said he wanted for the jury’s benefit to find out what she says she does and does not remember. He said she remembers going into the Beacon Hotel lift but not “being affectionate” to Mr McGregor. He said she remembers “being raped” but does not appear to remember it for a period of time.He said she remembers sending a message to her then boyfriend Ste at 6:28pm and that she had thought it was when she woke up in bed with Mr McGregor but now accepts it was in the car park. "That's another part of your memory that is gone,” he told her.You don't remember any of the things we see on the CCTV. You don't remember anything of the half hour when you're down in the basement with Mr Lawrence. You then remember being back in the room and recalling the rape. "You don't remember what happened then for the next number of hours,” he further stated.The trial continues before Judge Owens and a jury of eight women and four men on Tuesday.

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