MMA fighter loses attraction in civil rape case

Conor McGregor has misplaced his civil jury attraction in opposition to a discovering that he sexually assaulted a girl.

In November, McGregor was ordered to pay £206,000 in damages plus prices to Nikita Hand, who accused him of raping her in a lodge in Dublin in 2018.

McGregor appealed on the grounds that his legal professionals believed his solutions to police throughout interviews mustn’t have been put earlier than the jury.

His barrister additionally argued {that a} query on the “problem paper” given to the jury to assist them determine their verdict ought to have been worded otherwise.

Three senior judges on the Court docket of Enchantment in Dublin dismissed the attraction on all grounds.

Conor McGregor was not in court docket for the ruling.

Nikita Hand attended the listening to with a number of supporters.

In relation to the police interviews, the court docket discovered McGregor’s legal professionals had not proved there was “an actual danger of unfair trial”.

In the course of the authentic case, the jury heard that McGregor mentioned “no remark” round 100 instances when he was interviewed by police.

The difficulty paper requested the jurors if Conor McGregor had assaulted Ms Hand.

McGregor’s legal professionals argued it ought to have specified “sexual assault” somewhat than “assault”.

However the attraction judges mentioned that it was “merely unreal” to counsel that any member of the jury may have grow to be confused about that means of the query.

They gave a unanimous ruling that McGregor’s attraction needs to be dismissed “in its entirety”.

McGregor’s buddy, James Lawrence, additionally misplaced his attraction in opposition to the choice that he ought to pay prices, despite the fact that the jury discovered he didn’t assault Nikita Hand.

Ms Hand had claimed in her motion that Conor McGregor and James Lawrence each raped her.

The lads mentioned they each had consensual intercourse together with her.

Talking outdoors court docket, Ms Hand mentioned she was grateful for the assist she has obtained all through the civil motion.

“This attraction has retraumatised me over and over, being compelled to relive it, what occurred has had a huge effect on me,” she mentioned.

Ms Hand added: “To each survivor on the market, I understand how arduous it’s, however please, do not be silenced.

“You need to be heard, you additionally deserve justice. Immediately, I can lastly transfer on and attempt to heal.”

The attraction was based mostly round a number of points arising from the civil trial at Dublin’s Excessive Court docket final 12 months.

They included reference to the query “did Conor McGregor assault Nikita Hand?” being requested of the jury on the difficulty paper.

Conor McGregor’s authorized group mentioned it ought to have specified sexual assault.

Nonetheless, a barrister for Ms Hand mentioned “assault” covers all kinds of assaults including “what we have been coping with was assault by rape”.

He added the query put to the jury “was agreed and the jury couldn’t have been confused by it”.

McGregor was additionally interesting a difficulty across the dealing with of his solutions in interviews with gardaí (Irish law enforcement officials).

His authorized group defined that the jury heard McGregor gave about 100 “no remark” solutions to gardaí.

His barrister mentioned he had a proper to silence in police interviews and it was “left hanging”, permitting the jury to attract an hostile inference.

Ms Hand’s authorized group countered this argument by saying that if this was such a severe problem for McGregor on the time “absolutely an software to discharge the jury would have been made”.

Her barrister mentioned such an software was not made.

McGregor’s authorized attraction was additionally elevating a difficulty concerning the choose’s cost to the jury throughout the civil trial.

Initially of the method, Eire’s Court docket of Enchantment was informed that McGregor had withdrawn an software to have new proof entered on the attraction.

The proposed proof was from a pair, Samantha O’Reilly and Steven Cummins, who’re former neighbours of Nikita Hand.

A earlier preliminary listening to was informed that they claimed to have witnessed a row between Ms Hand and her former associate Stephen Redmond in December 2018.

The court docket heard McGregor believed the brand new proof steered that bruising on Nikita Hand’s physique may have been brought on by her former associate.

In an affidavit, Ms Hand had described the allegations as unfaithful and lies.

The senior judges mentioned it was “considerably mysterious” that what they described as an “vital and contentious” a part of the attraction had been “solid apart”.

They awarded Ms Hand prices in relation to this facet of the case.