‘I thought he was going to kill me’ – Woman says Conor McGregor kept telling her to ‘relax baby’ before alleged rape

THE alleged victim of UFC star Conor McGregor told the High Court he “pinned me onto the bed” and told her to “relax baby” before it’s claimed he raped her.

Nikita Hand took to the stand on the first day of her civil action against McGregor, 36, and a second man, James Lawrence.

Ms Hand, also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin, is suing the pair claiming she was sexually assaulted and raped by the two men on December 9, 2018.

Both men deny the claims.

Recalling her version of events in a penthouse at Dublin’s Beacon Hotel, she told how McGregor was coming onto her but she rejected his advances, saying she knew Dee, McGregor’s fiancee, and his family.

Speaking from the witness box, Ms Hand said: “He started to try to kiss me, rubbing my face. I knew what he was looking for. I said, no, I don’t feel comfortable, I know of Dee, I know her family.

“I was trying to talk him around that I didn’t want anything. I didn’t want to have sex. He just wasn’t taking no for an answer. He then pinned me onto the bed.”

After he told her to relax repeatedly, she said she remembered putting her arms up against her chest.

She said: “He just kept pushing his weight down on top of me.”

Earlier, it was claimed McGregor held the alleged victim in a “stranglehold” in the penthouse and told her: “Now you know what it was like in the octagon when I went down three times.”

The court heard that Ms Hand had to have a tampon, which had been embedded in her vagina, removed with the use of forceps at the Rotunda Hospital the day after the alleged rape.

McGregor arrived at Dublin’s High Court today for the opening day of the case in a navy suit and remained seated calmly in the courtroom throughout the day.

A jury of eight women and four men were sworn in and Hand’s legal team got the case underway.

Senior Counsel John Gordon for the plaintiff told how Ms Hand, 35, is a hair colourist and someone who had a good career in the hairdressing business. She had worked in a salon in Goatstown.

She was 29 in the run up to Christmas 2018 and a mother of a girl aged seven and had a partner. They lived in Drimnagh at the time.

Ms Hand had been in contact with McGregor before this point, with Mr Gordon saying she was of the same age group, same area and had mutual friends, and at the time McGregor was massively famous.

The communication was “very affable”, the heard.

MESSAGES EXCHANGED

Ms Hand attended a Christmas party on December 8 that year.
On the night, she and others ended up at a pub before it closed and some returned back to the salon where she worked.

Mr Gordon said that Ms Hand “is no angel and doesn’t pretend to be an angel”, adding that she was out “partying hard”.

She had lots to drink, including Bacardi, beer and had taken cocaine, the court heard.

It was heard that Ms Hand and McGregor had exchanged messages and he was driven to the location, in which he was a passenger in the car, and was collected along with her friend on the morning of December 9.

The vehicle driven by McGregor’s security man later pulled up outside a house.

COCAINE CLAIM

McGregor is alleged to have gone into the house for 15 to 20 minutes before he came out along with his co-defendant, James Lawrence, who got into the front passenger seat.

It is alleged that McGregor had a bag of cocaine.

He got into the backseat of the car and Nikita took some.

They later pulled into an underground car park of the Beacon Hotel and got a lift up to the penthouse. Ms Hand did not know where she was at this point but knew it was a hotel. The court was told that they were all drinking and laughing.

Mr Gordon told the court that McGregor “came on to her”, but she did not want to have sexual intercourse with him as she was on her period.

PINNED DOWN

Mr Gordon told the court that she alleged Mr McGregor pinned her down on the bed and that she was no physical match for him.

He added: “You will see pictures of her hands and wrists which are black and blue. You will see that her left breast has a bloodied scratch.

“The scratch is there because she was wearing a watch and had her hands up to protect herself.

“She was pressed down on and the watch scarred her breast.”

It is alleged later that she had sex with Lawrence, but Mr Gordon said she has no recollection of such an event ever happening.

HOSPITAL VISIT

The court also heard from a gynaecologist who was working at the Rotunda Hospital’s emergency department when Ms Hand presented there from the ambulance on December 10, 2018.

Dr Daniel Kane said Ms Hand agreed to go ahead with a full forensic examination at the hospital’s Sexual Assault Treatment Unit.

In his notes, Dr Kane said Ms Hand was “shaking and crying” throughout the examination.

He said that he had to remove the tampon from her vagina, which was described as being “wedged” at the very top.

I was trying to talk him around that I didn’t want anything. I didn’t want to have sex. He just wasn’t taking no for an answer. He then pinned me onto the bed

Nikita Hand

She answered a number of his questions, and Ms Hand told him: “The night was very blurry. I was in the room. That’s where it all happened. He had me by the neck.

“He stopped me from breathing a few times. I thought he was going to kill me.”

The doctor noted a “multiplicity” of injuries. She had bruises on all four limbs, on her lower back and buttocks. He said these were in keeping with fingerprint bruises.

Mr McGregor’s lawyers claim Ms Hand is attempting extortion.

The case continues at Dublin’s High Court tomorrow and is expected to last two weeks.