MMA fighter Conor McGregor loses appeal in civil rape case
In November, McGregor was ordered to pay £206,000 in damages plus costs to Nikita Hand, who accused him of raping her in a hotel in Dublin in 2018.
McGregor appealed on the grounds that his lawyers believed his answers to police during interviews should not have been put before the jury.
His barrister also argued that a question on the "issue paper" given to the jury to help them decide their verdict should have been worded differently.
Three senior judges at the Court of Appeal in Dublin dismissed the appeal on all grounds.
Conor McGregor was not in court for the ruling.
Nikita Hand attended the hearing with several supporters.
In relation to the police interviews, the court found McGregor's lawyers had not proved there was "a real risk of unfair trial".
During the original case, the jury heard that McGregor said "no comment" around 100 times when he was interviewed by police.
The issue paper asked the jurors if Conor McGregor had assaulted Ms Hand.
McGregor's lawyers argued it should have specified "sexual assault" rather than "assault".
But the appeal judges said that it was "simply unreal" to suggest that any member of the jury could have become confused about meaning of the question.
They gave a unanimous ruling that McGregor's appeal should be dismissed "in its entirety".
McGregor's friend, James Lawrence, also lost his appeal against the decision that he should pay costs, even though the jury found he did not assault Nikita Hand.
Ms Hand had claimed in her action that Conor McGregor and James Lawrence both raped her.
The men said they both had consensual sex with her.
'Retraumatised me over and over'
Speaking outside court, Ms Hand said she was grateful for the support she has received throughout the civil action.
"This appeal has retraumatised me over and over again, being forced to relive it, what happened has had a huge impact on me," she said.
Ms Hand 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. Today, I can finally move on and try to heal."
What was the basis for McGregor's appeal?
The appeal was based around several issues arising from the civil trial at Dublin's High Court last year.
They included reference to the question "did Conor McGregor assault Nikita Hand?" being asked of the jury on the issue paper.
Conor McGregor's legal team said it should have specified sexual assault.
However, a barrister for Ms Hand said "assault" covers a wide variety of assaults adding "what we were dealing with was assault by rape".
He added the question put to the jury "was agreed and the jury could not have been confused by it".
McGregor was also appealing an issue around the handling of his answers in interviews with gardaí (Irish police officers).
His legal team explained that the jury heard McGregor gave about 100 "no comment" answers to gardaí.
His barrister said he had a right to silence in police interviews and it was "left hanging", allowing the jury to draw an adverse inference.
Ms Hand's legal team countered this argument by saying that if this was such a serious issue for McGregor at the time "surely an application to discharge the jury would have been made".
Her barrister said such an application was not made.
McGregor's legal appeal was also raising an issue about the judge's charge to the jury during the civil trial.
Withdrawal of evidence
At the beginning of the process, Ireland's Court of Appeal was told that McGregor had withdrawn an application to have new evidence entered at the appeal.
The proposed evidence was from a couple, Samantha O'Reilly and Steven Cummins, who are former neighbours of Nikita Hand.
A previous preliminary hearing was told that they claimed to have witnessed a row between Ms Hand and her former partner Stephen Redmond in December 2018.
The court heard McGregor believed the new evidence suggested that bruising on Nikita Hand's body could have been caused by her former partner.
In an affidavit, Ms Hand had described the allegations as untrue and lies.
The senior judges said it was "somewhat mysterious" that what they described as an "important and contentious" part of the appeal had been "cast aside".
They awarded Ms Hand costs in relation to this aspect of the case.
Conor McGregor ordered to pay Nikita Hand's legal costs
'People want nothing to do with him': How Ireland turned away from Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor appeal evidence withdrawal to be referred to prosecutors
Woman wins civil rape case against Conor McGregor
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Parents abandon 10-year-old son at Barcelona Airport so they wouldn't miss their flight: report
A couple reportedly left their 10-year-old son at a Barcelona airport after his passport had expired so they wouldn't miss their flight to their home country, according to media reports. The Sun reported that a terminal worker at the airport said the couple left Barcelona's Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport on Wednesday without their child, choosing to have a relative pick him. The air traffic control worker who went by Lilian, discussed the incident in a TikTok video, saying the child was prohibited from flying because of his expired passport. He also required a visa. Passengers Removed From Plane, Arrested For Alleged Vodka-induced Drunk And Disruptive Behavior "His passport in the country was expired, so the child was traveling with a Spanish passport but the Spanish passport needed a visa. As they did not have a visa, they left the child at the terminal and called a relative to come and pick him up," said Lilian. Airport staff found the boy by himself and alerted authorities, the worker claimed, according to The Sun report. Read On The Fox News App "He told them that his parents were on the plane on their way to their home country, going on vacation," she said. Contact was made with the plane's pilot, who reportedly confirmed that the police told him there was a minor in the car park. Florida Dad Arrested After Toddler Dies In Hot Car While He Allegedly Got Hair Cut, 'Went Drinking': Police He then asked passengers "if someone had left a child in the terminal and no one had answered." The parents were located, who were accompanied by another younger child. The parents were taken to a police station to get their son. "How is it possible for parents to leave their ten-year-old son at the terminal because he cannot travel due to documentation issues?" Lilian said. "They call a relative but the relative may take half an hour, about an hour, about three hours and they take the flight so calmly and leave the child behind!" It was not clear if the parents were charged with any crime or their article source: Parents abandon 10-year-old son at Barcelona Airport so they wouldn't miss their flight: report Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
10-year-old boy ditched at airport by parents who realized his passport was expired upon arrival at airport
An unnamed mother and father allegedly abandoned a 10-year-old boy at an airport in Spain and boarded without him after realizing his passport was expired In a scene one airport staffer described as "utterly surreal,' a couple allegedly abandoned their 10‑year‑old son at a Spanish airport after discovering his travel documents were invalid. With the boy's Spanish passport expired and no visa in hand, the parents reportedly opted to board their flight anyway—arranging for a relative to meet and collect him at the terminal while they departed. An airport staffer claims to have witnessed the incident According to Lilian—a staff coordinator who shared the incident in a TikTok video now viewed by hundreds of thousands—the child told authorities his parents were already on board and en route to their home country for vacation. When airport and police personnel located the boy alone, they immediately informed the plane's pilot, who then asked passengers if anyone had left a child behind. No one came forward. Eventually, officers identified the parents, who were traveling with another younger child. They were taken to the airport's police station—along with the boy—after authorities removed their six suitcases from the flight. Lilian questioned how someone could calmly board a plane and leave a 10‑year‑old unattended, even with assurances a relative would arrive within an hour or more. The fate of the parents is still unknown It's not yet known whether the parents have been formally charged or faced any legal consequences. Their nationality hasn't been disclosed, and the claims remain unverified beyond the coordinator's TikTok account. Not the 1st case of children left behind or unattended at airports Back in 2018, a couple in Germany forgot their five-year-old daughter at Berlin's Stuttgart Airport, claiming they'd each thought the other parent had taken charge of her. More recently, an unattended two-year-old was swept away on a luggage conveyor belt and dropped down a chute at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport in late May. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Lawsuit against Graham James tossed after judge finds evidence 'too unreliable'
This article may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it. A Manitoba judge has dismissed a $6-million lawsuit against disgraced hockey coach Graham James and the St. James-Assiniboia School Division after she found the evidence presented by the plaintiff had inconsistencies, contradictions and was "too unreliable" to prove the convicted sexual offender abused a 10-year-old student in 1983. "I am satisfied on the evidence adduced by the defendant that there is no genuine issue requiring a trial as to whether James sexually assaulted [the boy]," Court of King's Bench Judge Sarah Inness wrote in her decision. The lawsuit, filed in November 2023, claimed James placed his hand on the boy's tights, making contact with his genitals, while James was his substitute teacher at the Winnipeg school division. The statement of claim also alleged James assaulted the student at a relative's home the same year, forcing sexual acts on him and encouraging the boy's sister, who was a girl at the time, to sexually touch him. Inness said at issue in the lawsuit is whether James was the perpetrator of the alleged sexual assaults. "[The man's] beliefs that James is the person responsible, even if sincere, are not evidence upon which a finding of liability can reliably rest," the judge's decision said. The judge said care was taken to assess the claims of the plaintiff, given James is "a notorious child sex offender." He spent several years in prison for sexually assaulting multiple young players he coached in the 1980s and 1990s. But the evidence presented by the plaintiff at the lawsuit raised concerns over contradictions and inconsistencies, including the timeline of the events, the judge's decision said. The man initially claimed in the lawsuit and criminal complaint that the assault happened in May and the summer of 1983. But following a Winnipeg Police Service investigation that found the man was not a student at the school until later that year, he filed an amended lawsuit claiming the sexual abuse had instead started in September and the fall of 1983. "I recognize that a mistake as to the time frame of historical sexual abuse allegations alone may be explained by [the man's] age at the time and the number of years that have passed since then," the judge wrote in her decision. But there were other concerns. The judge pointed to the physical description the man gave police of the substitute teacher, which matched two photographs of James that were in news articles about the coach's sexual offending. The plaintiff admitted he came across those while doing research for his lawsuit. "I find the reason he conducted research prior to making a criminal complaint was to assist himself in identifying his abuser. Either he did not know or he was unsure it was James," the decision said. 'Unaware of the identity,' says judge Through interviews with the man's relatives, police found he never stayed overnight at the house where he said James assaulted him, and he had only been there for a visit over Christmas, where he left shortly after arriving, the decision said. In the statement of claim, the man also said he saw James talking with another person the morning after the sexual abuse. At cross-examination, the man identified the person as his uncle. When asked why he hadn't before, the plaintiff said he didn't want to unnecessarily involve his family. The judge said this was problematic. "His failure to adduce such evidence, knowing that the defendants were challenging the veracity of those claims, adds doubts to the accuracy of his account," the decision said. "The fact that he was researching substitute teachers who were convicted, and his reluctance to involve his family as witnesses, suggests he was unaware of the identity of the person." Records provided by the school division during the litigation show James had no days logged with them between September 1983 and June 1984. The judge said that while that evidence doesn't prove the former coach didn't work for the division after May 1983, it is reasonable to infer it. James denied sexually assaulting the boy and said he was hired full-time as an assistant coach for the Winnipeg Warriors in or around May 1983. The judge said that if he had worked at the division after, there would have been some record or documentation.
