Conor McGregor withdraws ‘fresh evidence' ground of rape trial appeal
's appeal against a High Court civil jury finding in favour of
Nikita Hand
, who alleged he raped her in a Dublin hotel, has opened with a dramatic development.
Lawyers for Mr McGregor applied today to withdraw a 'fresh evidence' ground of the appeal. This was related to claims by a former neighbour of Ms Hand that, from her own home, she had heard and observed a row between Ms Hand and her former partner at their home, within hours of the encounter between Ms Hand and Mr McGregor in the Beacon hotel in December 9th, 2018.
Ms Hand has described the claims by her former neighbour Samanta O'Reilly as 'lies'.
Mark Mulholland KC, said the application to withdraw the application to admit the neighbours' evidence, arose from consideration of law which indicated that the evidence of a former Northern Ireland State Pathologist, Dr Jack Crane, was not admissible. The evidence of Prof Crane was in his view necessary to corroborate the evidence of Ms O'Reilly and her partner Steven Cummins, counsel said.
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Today, John Gordon SC, for Ms Hand, said he was 'shocked' at the application to withdraw which he had only heard of on his way to court. This was 'totally unacceptable', he said, the court has to give leave to withdraw, and he was opposing the application.
Ms Hand has been 'put through the wringer yet again', in this application and in the newspaper world where the application had been reported. She had answered the claims by her neighbours Ms O'Reilly and Steven Cummins by saying they were lies. That was now conceded and the court should allow him cross-examine Ms O'Reilly, her partner and Mr McGregor's solicitor Michael Staines about the matter, counsel said.
Mr Gordon indicated there might be an issue about referring matters to the DPP for consideration of perjury proceedings.
Mr Justice Brian O'Moore said to say that he was bemused by Mr McGregor's side's application was 'a kind way' of putting his view on the matter. Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said she shared her colleague's view.
After considering what the court described as the 'last-minute application', Ms Justice Kennedy said Mr McGregor's side could withdraw their motions to adduce the evidence to Ms O'Reilly, Mr Cummins and Dr Crane.
Mr Gordon asked would Mr McGregor's side consider offering an apology to Ms Hand over the matter. Remy Farrell SC, for Mr McGregor, said that would be addressed by Mr Staines in due course.
Ms Hand, accompanied by her partner Gary Foy, her mother Deborah, a cousin and some friends, is in the packed Hugh Kennedy courtroom in the Four Courts for the appeal hearing. Mr McGregor is not in court.
Ms Hand is represented by Ray Boland SC and John Gordon SC, with barrister Siún Leonowicz, instructed by Coleman Legal LLP. Mr McGregor is represented by Remy Farrell SC and Mark Mulholland KC with barrister Shelley Horan, instructed by Michael J Staines & Company, solicitors.
Mr McGregor has appealed against a High Court civil jury's finding last November that he assaulted Ms Hand in the Beacon Hotel, Sanydford, Dublin, on December 9th, 2018.
The jury awarded Ms Hand €250,000 damages and the trial judge, Mr Justice Alexander Owens, subsequently ordered Mr McGregor to pay her legal costs.
In evidence to the High Court, Ms Hand, a 36-year-old mother of one, said Mr McGregor had raped her when she and a friend went with Mr McGregor, and a friend of his, James Lawrence to the hotel.
She said she told Mr McGregor she did not want to have intercourse with him, she felt uncomfortable, but he 'would not take no for an answer'. She was wearing a tampon at the time and would not have sex during her period, she said.
Mr McGregor denied rape and said he and Ms Hand had 'fully consensual', 'vigorous', 'athletic' sex. He said he was shocked when later shown photos of bruising on Ms Hand, he had not caused them and there was no tampon.
When charging the jury, Mr Justice Owens told them, if a person proves they were subject by another person to non-consensual sexual activity, that is the tort [a civil wrong causing harm or loss leading to legal liability] of assault.
The jury found Mr McGregor had assaulted Ms Hand. It found Mr Lawrence (35), of Rafter's Road, Drimnagh, had not assaulted Ms Hand through allegedly having sex with her without her consent in the hotel.
Mr McGregor's grounds of appeal are wide-ranging, including claims over the conduct of the 12-day hearing by Mr Justice Owens. Some grounds focus on whether the trial judge erred in directing the jury be asked to answer whether or not Mr McGregor 'assaulted' Ms Hand rather than 'sexually assaulted' her.
As part of his appeal, Mr McGregor provided affidavits by Samantha O'Reilly and her partner Steven Cummins, former neighbours of Ms Hand when she lived in Drimnagh.
Ms Hand, in a replying affidavit, has described as 'lies' claims by Ms O'Reilly that bruising on her body, which she alleges was caused by Mr McGregor in the hotel on December 9th 2018, may have been caused following an alleged row between Ms Hand and her then partner in their home hours later.
In her affidavit, Ms Hand said her then partner, Stephen Redmond, did not assault her on the night of December 9th/10th, 2018 'and never assaulted me in the course of our relationship or since'. She and Mr Redmond had had a verbal argument downstairs in their house that night, a recording of which was played during the High Court case, but that was not so loud that Ms O'Reilly could have heard it, she also said.
Before today's development, the appeal court was being asked to decide, during the full hearing of the appeal, whether the affidavits from Ms O'Reilly and Mr Cummins, sworn last January, are admissible.
It was also due to decide whether an affidavit from Dr Crane was admissible. Mr McGregor claims that a report from Dr Crane, who was asked by the McGregor side to review material from the trial, is supportive of the credibility of the claims made by Ms O'Reilly and Mr Cummins.
Ms O'Reilly alleged that, on the night of December 9th/10th, 2018, she had observed from the upstairs window of her house a row between Ms Hand and Mr Redmond. Ms O'Reilly said she inferred, from movements of Ms Hand's body, that Mr Redmond had assaulted her on the ground.
The mixed martial arts fighter had persistently denied he assaulted Ms Hand and claims the new material came into his possession after the High Court case and provides a 'plausible' explanation for bruising on Ms Hand's body.
The extensive bruising seen on Ms Hand's body when examined by a doctor in the Rotunda hospital the day after her encounter with Mr McGregor was significant evidence in the High Court case. Gardaí took photos of the bruising on Tuesday December 11th, 2018.
An appeal by James Lawrence against the trial judge's refusal to order Ms Hand to pay his legal costs of the trial will be heard alongside Mr McGregor's appeal. The jury was told by Mr McGregor he had paid his friend's costs for the High Court hearing.
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