Dublin High Court has condemned this Friday in a civil trial of the fighter Conor McGregor for a rape which took place in December 2018 in a hotel in the Irish capital, for which he must compensate the victim, Nikita Hands, 35, with 248,603 euros.
The verdict, issued by a jury made up of eight women and four men, thus ratifies Hands’ version in the civil lawsuit filed against former UFC champion and James Lawrencea friend of the mixed martial arts star and who has been exonerated from the incident.
McGregor, who has been accompanied in the room by his partner, Dee Devlin, his mother Margaret and his sister, among other family members, He shook his head in rejection upon hearing the sentence.after defending during the trial that the sexual relations he had with Hands were consensual.
“I will appeal today’s decision. The judge’s instruction and the modest compensation awarded was for assault, not for aggravated or exemplary damages. I am disappointed that the jury did not hear all the evidence that the prosecutor reviewed. Now I am with my family, focused on my future. Thanks to everyone who supports me around the world,” the Irishman said through his social networks.
Upon leaving the court, Hands read a statement in which he assured that his victory serves as an example for “every boy and girl” that “you can defend yourself no matter who the person is, and that justice will be done.” Likewise, he has urged “all victims of sexual assault” to come forward no matter “how much fear they may have.”
The judicial process
Judge Alexander Owens explained this Friday that compensation addresses “general and special damages”which include medical expenses, which Hands has suffered due to the sexual assault, although it does not contemplate “exemplary or aggravated damages”, which would have increased the amount.
The legal representatives of the plaintiff, for their part, had requested as compensation 750,000 euros to relocate his clientwho after the attack left the house he had bought with his then partner, as well as one million euros for loss of income after leaving her job in a beauty salon for mental health reasons.
Hands’ defense presented medical testimony during the trial that confirmed that he had bruises and internal injurieswhile another health professional revealed that she had to remove a tampon with forceps because it was located deep in the vagina.
Hands, who heard the verdict through tears and hugged by her current partner, declared that it was The Notorious who proposed sexual relations to her but that she refused, so He tried to immobilize her on the bed on up to three occasions until he succeeded.just as it is done in the cage where mixed martial arts fights take place.
McGregor’s lawyers turned to hotel security footage to argue that the complainant had a festive attitude at all timesa version endorsed by witness Danielle Kealy, the friend who accompanied Hands to the luxurious penthouse of the hotel where the events occurred.
The 36-year-old mixed martial arts star insisted during this trial on his innocence by stressing that He had “consensual, vigorous and energetic” sex, but “not rough” with Hands, whom he had known for years because they are both from the same area of ​​Dublin and had friends in common.
Both have also recognized that consumed alcohol and cocaine during the hours that the party lasted at the Beacon Hotel in the Irish capital.
Since it is a civil case, The jury has not ruled on the guilt or innocence of the defendantsbut after accepting that the complainant was raped by McGregor, the judge has imposed compensation that the athlete’s defense has described as an attempt at extortion.
In this sense, Hands’ lawyers have reported that they have been forced to pursue civil proceedings after the prosecution refused to press charges understanding that there were no reasonable prospects of conviction for McGregor and Lawrence.