The woman who accused UFC star Conor McGregor of raping her watched on as masked men broke into her home and stabbed her partner earlier this year.
Nikita Hand successfully sued the sportsman for damages after accusing him of raping her at the Beacon Hotel in Dublin in 2018, and was today, (Friday, November 22) awarded €248,603.60 (£207,000) in damages.
On the first day of the trial, and in the absence of the jury, the High Court was told that Ms Hand’s home was invaded by a “group of men with balaclavas” who “burst” into her bedroom, with her partner suffering “stab wounds” in the process. Ms Hand’s young daughter was in another room where she dialled 999 and the Gardaí promptly arrived, reports the Irish Mirror.
READ MORE: Conor McGregor’s rise to ‘Notorious’ UFC star and scandal as he’s found to have raped woman
(Image: PA)
The windows of the house were broken during the ordeal, the court also was told.
Ms Hand’s legal counsel, John Gordon, requested for the incident to be told as evidence as part of the mum-of-one’s case. He did not suggest McGregor was involved in the incident, but reasoned “we do make the claim that it is not an untargeted attack and it arose from supporters of the first named defendant (McGregor)”.
Mr Gordon added the ordeal was relevant to Ms Hand’s claim because she had to move from the Drimnagh area, and said he was not making the claim that McGregor was involved.
Judge Alexander Owens ruled against hearing about the break in, saying the incident would be open to “big speculation” if Ms Hand’s legal team were offering up evidence that McGregor wasn’t involved in. Mr Gordon argued that the matter was relevant to his client’s “state of anxiety” and her decision to leave the Drimnagh area.
Remy Farrell, SC for Conor McGregor, said it appeared Ms Hand was “acknowledging this incident which we know nothing about has nothing to do with us”, adding that he thought it was “extraordinary” to “smuggle something like that into the case”. He called it an unprecedented claim.
Judge Owens ruled the incident was “completely and utterly irrelevant” and ruled that it shouldn’t be referred to.
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