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Conor McGregor loses appeal against jury finding that he raped Nikita Hand
Summary
The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Conor McGregor against a jury finding that he was civilly liable for the rape of Nikita Hand in 2018. The original High Court jury awarded Ms Hand €248,000 in damages and ordered McGregor to pay both parties' legal costs, totaling €1.3 million. Co-appellant James Lawrence, who was found not civilly liable for rape, received no costs order because the jury did not accept his evidence and McGregor paid his legal fees. Both men denied the allegations. The appeal court rejected all grounds raised by McGregor, including arguments regarding the admission of his "no comment" responses to gardaí and the wording of the issue paper. Justice Brian O'Moore stated it was "simply unreal" that jurors could have been confused by the term "assault" when the trial judge clarified it referred to rape. Claims of "new evidence" regarding bruising on Ms Hand, based on affidavits from Samantha O'Reilly and Steven Cummins, were withdrawn on the first day of the appeal. The court awarded costs to Ms Hand for both appeals and made no costs order for Lawrence. Ms Hand stated the process re-traumatised her and urged survivors to seek justice.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Conor McGregor loses appeal against jury finding that he raped Nikita Hand. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- December 9, 2018 Incident
- December 10, 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
- December 9 Other
- 2025-07-31 Publication
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