Woman in sex assault civil action against Conor McGregor allegedly told doctor she thought he was going to kill her
Nikita Hand gave evidence on day one of the civil action against the MMA star in the High Court in Dublin today
A woman who claims she was pinned down in a 'vicious and violent' attack by Conor McGregor allegedly told a doctor that she thought he was going to kill her.
Mr McGregor (36) was before Dublin’s High Court on the first day of a civil damages assault case taken against him by hair colourist Nikita Hand (35) - who alleges he pinned her down in a “vicious and violent” attack in the penthouse suite of the Beacon Hotel in Dublin - after earlier that morning sharing a bag of cocaine with her on December 9, 2018.
The UFC star is alleged to have pinned down Ms Hand in an alleged sexual assault, telling her : “Now you know what it was like in the Octagon when I went down three times.”
Mr McGregor and his co-defendant, James Lawrence, of Rafter's Road, Drimnagh, who is also accused of assault, deny the allegations, saying what occurred was consensual.
READ MORE: All updates from day one of the civil action against Conor McGregor
Empanelling a jury this morning Judge Owens said the trial is about a hair colourist who alleges that Conor McGregor “sexually assaulted,” “in effect raped her” on December 9 2018, and who claimed that “Mr James Lawrence did likewise.” Judge Owens said the action is not a criminal case but it is a civil action for assault.
Dressed in a navy suit, the famous Mixed Martial Artist from Crumlin, who denies the claim, appeared before Judge Alexander Owens, a jury of eight women and three men - and was supported in court by his father Tony.
John Gordon SC for Ms Hand told the court that McGregor’s defence to what occurred is that it was consensual and a “bit of rough sex.”
“That’s his answer,” he said. He also told the jury that there was also a "particularly vicious twist" in the defence’s case that he said suggests she is a “gold digger” and a "fraud" in claiming for E1M in lost earnings - by saying it was "tantamount to extortion".
He told the court that this was the only route for his client, who said she was “violated” and that she viewed this case as a route to “vindication” for her. Ms Hand, who the court heard is originally from Drimnagh in Dublin but has since moved, was also present in court - supported by her partner.
She later took the witness stand and told the court that McGregor, who she said she knew of through her cousins, “came onto” her in the hotel that morning - and that she rejected his advances, telling him that she knew of his partner Dee Devlin.
“He was coming onto me. He started to try to kiss me, rubbing my face. I knew what he was looking for,” she told the court. “I said no I don’t feel comfortable, I know of Dee, I know her family. I was trying to talk him around that I didn’t want anything. I didn’t want to have sex and I wasn’t there for anything like that. “He just wasn’t taking no for an answer. He then pinned me onto the bed," she said.
Ms Hand said McGregor “kept telling me to relax babe” and that he “pinned me down on the bed.” Motioning her hands up to her chest she said: “I remember putting my arms up against my chest. He just kept pushing his weight down on top of me. “I remember putting my arms like this, to keep him as far away from me as possible.”
Also giving evidence in the case, Dr Daniel Kane, who was working in the Rotunda Hospital’s Sexual Assault Trauma Unit on December 10, told the court that he met with Ms Hand - who arrived by ambulance that morning after her mother rang 999 for one.
He told the court that Ms Hand told him on arrival of what she alleged occurred.
“I was out yesterday with my friend. I was at a hotel, I can’t remember where it was. The night was very blurry. I was in the room. That’s where it all happened. He had me by the neck, he stopped me from breathing a few times. I thought he was going to kill me," he said she told him.
Dr Kane said he examined Ms Hand and removed a tampon that was wedged at the “very very top” of her vagina - and ultimately concluded from his examination of her that it was “consistent with the outline of events described by Nicola.”
He also found she had a multitude of bruises to her arms, legs, knuckles and buttocks. It came after the court earlier heard the allegation from from John Gordon SC that Ms Hand would say that she was pinned down by McGregor in the room of the penthouse suite of the Beacon Hotel on December 9.
He had told the court that his client was “no angel” and that she had been “partying hard” that night before messaging McGregor who picked her and her friend up in a car and brought them to the hotel. He said they spent some time in the car with McGregor in the back seat, driving around various housing estates before ending up at the house of the co-defendant James Lawrence.
Mr Gordon said his client alleges that McGregor shared cocaine with her and her friend - something she later told the jury herself - alleging that McGregor came out of the house of co defendant Mr Lawrence and shared a bag of the drug with them in a car. She had just started her period on December 8 and told McGregor she could not have sex with him and that she had a tampon inside of her. Not knowing where they were going, Mr Gordon told the court that Ms Hand and her friend ended up being brought to the Beacon Hotel where at one point McGregor “beckons on my client to s**k his c**k.”
Mr Gordon told the jury that Ms Hand refused this and McGregor “subsequently comes on to her as you might describe it." “She does not want to have intercourse with Mr McGregor. She wants to have a good time,” he said.
He then told the court that Ms Hand would say that McGregor “actually pinned her onto the bed. She was clearly no physical match for Mr McGregor.” He said his client will tell them that she was “nervous,” that she “tried to push him off her but she was completely unable to do so.” Mr Gordon said the jury will be shown photographs that show there was “some effort” and that they will see her hands and wrists were “black and blue.” They will also see that on her left breast there is a bloodied scratch which he said was because she was wearing a watch, had her hands up in front to try and keep him off - but he “pressed down on her and she scratched her breast.”
He said Ms Hand says McGregor then told her: “Now you know what it was like in the Octagon when I went down three times. “She was at this point completely terrified.”
He said the incident meant that the tampon his client had was wedged up the back of her vagina - and that when she presented to the Sexual Assault Trauma Unit, where Dr Kane had to use a forceps to take it out. In the afternoon Ms Hand told the court that she was the mother of a 13 year old girl and worked for ten years in the Goatstown area as a hair colourist in a salon. She told the court that she knew of Conor McGregor through her cousins and was friends with some of his friends.
On December 8 2018 she and her colleagues were due to attend a Circus themed work Christmas party in Airfield - and they earlier had a few drinks in the salon before going to it. She posted pictures of herself at the event in a red jumpsuit to her Instagram story.
Asked about prior contact with Mr McGregor on Instagram Ms Hand said she previously posted a comment to a post he had up of his “Proper 12” Whiskey to which she said “ah give us a bottle.” McGregor responded “you can get whatever you want Nikita.”
Ms Hand said she had a beer and a Bacardi and Coke before going to the Goat Grill where she and pals had further drinks before going to the Airfield event that night. She told the court that she “took some cocaine” in Airfield and that they then went back to the salon where they had further drinks.
It was then in the early hours of December 9 that she said McGregor posted under one of her photos asking where she was. She said she sent McGregor back a direct message on Instagram and that he sent on a phone number that she then rang. “He asked me where I was. I told him where I was and he said he would come and get us,” Ms Hand told the court.
She and her friend Danielle were waiting in the salon for McGregor who “took ages” before showing up in a car driven by a security guard she said. She stated to the court that this occurred “probably about 9/10 in the morning.” She sat in the middle of the backseat with McGregor on her left and Danielle on her right, and said that the car drove around for some time, occasionally pulling over at various houses.
She said they eventually pulled over at the home of James Lawrence and that McGregor “brought a bag of cocaine out that he said was cocaine.” Ms Hand said she and Danielle took the cocaine and that they were then brought to an underground car park, brought up in an elevator to the penthouse suite of the Beacon Hotel.
Initially she said the mood was fine and that she remembers getting into the bathtub fully dressed as she was “just being silly.”
She said drinks were brought up to the room - vodka, Bacardi and mixers and that they all were drinking. Ms Hand said she could remember three security guards coming in and out of the room- and she then remembered being in the bedroom with them and McGregor.
She said earlier McGregor was in the bathroom and said something ‘inapproate to her’ - “He told me to suck on that.”
She said she went out of the room and back into the other room where James Lawrence and Danielle were. She said she then remembered being in the bedroom alone with Conor and that he was “coming on” to her.
“He started to try to kiss me, rubbing my face. I knew what he was looking for." She told the court that she told McGregor she did not feel comfortable, that she knew his partner and she did not want to have sex with him.
The case continues before Judge Owens tomorrow where Ms Hand is expected to resume her evidence
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