UFC star Conor McGregor was in High Court in Dublin on Tuesday as he faces a civil lawsuit pertaining to an alleged 2018 sexual assault.
McGregor, as well as alleged victim Nikita Ni Lamhain (Hand), both were present in the courtroom as the trial got underway, according to various news outlets, including The Irish Times. Hand filed a civil lawsuit in 2021 after she claimed the UFC star and another man, James Lawrence, had sex with her against her will in December 2018 while she was intoxicated in a hotel room.
McGregor and Lawrence have denied the accusations.
Judge Alexander Owens notified the 12 jurors (four men and eight women) that the trial is expected to last two weeks.
Emergency room doctor shares observations
On Tuesday, an emergency room gynecologist, Dr. Daniel Kane, who worked at Rotunda Hospital and treated Hand shortly after the alleged incident, said what he observed was “consistent with the outline of events as described by Nikita (Hand),” according to the Irish Mirror.
Kane said bruising was present in various locations across Hand’s body and said he witnessed Hand shaking and crying. The jury was shown images of the bruising.
According to Kane, Hand said, “He had me by the neck. He stopped me from breathing a few times. I thought he was going to kill me.”
Kane also said he performed a sexual assault examination kit to collect DNA samples in front of authorities. He also retrieved a tampon that was “wedged at the very, very top.”
Hand further details allegations during testimony
Hand said that, hours prior to the alleged incident, she attended a costume party at a club, drank alcohol and took cocaine. She said McGregor, whose cousin she was friends with, commented on an Instagram post of hers, asking where she was.
The comment came weeks after Hand told McGregor to give her a bottle of Proper Twelve, the UFC star’s Irish whiskey brand, to which McGregor responded, “You can get whatever you want, Nikita.”
As the night progressed, Hand said she contacted McGregor, they spoke on the phone, and McGregor said he’d come pick up her and her friend. At around 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., McGregor and a security guard arrived by car.
The car stopped to pick up Lawrence. McGregor exited the vehicle and came back with what he said was cocaine. Hand said she and her friend did some cocaine and were taken to a hotel, where they thought there would be another party.
The group went up to two connecting rooms. At one point, Hand said security closed the doors between the rooms, leaving her with McGregor. Hand said McGregor made verbal then physical advances on her as she tried to push McGregor away and brought up his engagement to longtime fiancee Dee Devlin.
According to Hand, McGregor said “that’s how I felt in the octagon, I had to tap myself out three times, that’s how I felt” as he forcibly had sex with her.
Hand alleges she doesn’t have much recollection beyond that, other than being taken home in a taxi later that day. After telling her mother what happened, she went to the emergency room. One month later, she notified police.
In the statement of claim reported by The New York Times in 2021, Hand cited having psychological and emotional problems caused by the alleged rape, has been unable to work since May 2019 and is seeking damages of $1.79-$2.13 million for lost wages (past and future), a change of homes, and medical expenses.
The civil trial is expected to resume Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. local time (5:30 a.m. ET).
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