Conor McGregor has lost his appeal against a civil jury's finding in favour of Dublin woman Nikita Hand, who accused him of rape. The MMA fighter's appeal was dismissed on all five grounds by the Court of Appeal on Thursday.
Speaking outside court, Ms Hand urged survivors of sexual assault not to be "silenced" and said she would now try to "heal". The 35-year-old successfully sued McGregor in a civil court over an incident in which he was alleged to have "brutally raped and battered" her in a penthouse at a south Dublin hotel in December 2018.
Appeal dismissed entirely
The jury found McGregor civilly liable for assault, despite his claims that he had consensual sex with Ms Hand. Ms Hand was awarded €248,603.60 in damages and McGregor was also ordered to pay about €1.3 million in legal costs following November's trial.
The three judges of the Court of Appeal - Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, Mr Justice Brian O'Moore and Mr Justice Patrick MacGrath - agreed to dismiss his appeal in its entirety. Reading out the judgment, Mr Justice O'Moore summarised the grounds for appeal before dismissing all five grounds.
Co-defendant's appeal rejected
The judges also dismissed McGregor's co-defendant James Lawrence's appeal against the trial judge's decision not to award him his legal costs. The same jury did not find that Lawrence had assaulted Ms Hand.
The judges raised concerns about McGregor paying Lawrence's legal fees, saying the arrangement was "shrouded in mystery". Mr Justice O'Moore said awarding costs to Lawrence could result in a "bounty of several hundred thousand euros for his troubles" if he did not pass them on to McGregor.
Hand speaks of retraumatisation
Ms Hand, who was embraced by her supporters in the courtroom after the judgment was delivered, thanked her legal team, the Rape Crisis Centre, and the three judges. "I'm also deeply grateful for everyone who supported me and those who believed in me and stood by my side throughout this case," she said outside court.
"This appeal has retraumatised me over and over again (by) being forced to relive it, what happened has had a huge impact on me," she added. "To every survivor out there, I know how hard it is but please don't be silenced. You deserve to be heard, you also deserve justice."
Fresh evidence withdrawn
Among the grounds on which McGregor's legal team issued the appeal was fresh evidence following an affidavit from a former neighbour of Ms Hand. Earlier this month, McGregor's legal team dramatically withdrew that ground of appeal, saying it would no longer be relying on the material.
Mr Justice O'Moore said the manner in which the new evidence was abandoned "in the last moment... remain mysterious". McGregor's appeal proceeded on other grounds, including in relation to his "no comment" replies during garda interviews and whether the issue paper to the jury should have specified sexual assault and not "assault".
Judge dismisses confusion claims
Mr Justice O'Moore cited several examples of the jury being told to disregard the "no comment" answers McGregor gave to gardai and not to draw any inference from that. He described the difference between the jury being told to disregard these and telling them they are simply not evidence was "gossamer thin".
He also said there was "no doubt" that in the trial judge's charge, the central allegation was that McGregor had raped Ms Hand and that this was the assault being referred to. He said it was "unreal" to suggest that the jury became confused when it was stated in such a clear way by the judge.
"Today I can finally move on and try to heal," Ms Hand said, adding that she did not have a message for McGregor as she left the Four Courts. Neither McGregor nor Lawrence were present in court on Thursday.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
