MMA fighter Conor McGregor sexually assaulted woman, civil jury finds
“He let me go and I remember saying I was sorry, as I felt that I did something wrong and I wanted to reassure him that I wouldn’t tell anyone so he wouldn’t hurt me again,” she said.
She said she then let him do what he wanted and he had sex with her.
Nikita Ni Laimhin, who is also known as Nikita Hand, walks outside the High Court in Dublin, Credit: AP
Police investigated the woman’s complaint, but prosecutors declined to bring charges, saying there was insufficient evidence and a conviction was unlikely.
McGregor said the two had sex that was athletic and vigorous, but not rough. He said “she never said ‘no’ or stopped” and testified that everything she said was a lie.
“It is a full-blown lie among many lies,” he said when asked about the chokehold allegation. “How anyone could believe that me, as a prideful person, would highlight my shortcomings.”
McGregor’s lawyer told jurors they had to set aside their animus toward the fighter.
“You may have an active dislike of him, some of you may even loathe him – there is no point pretending that the situation might be otherwise,” attorney Remy Farrell said. “I’m not asking you to invite him to Sunday brunch.”
The defence said the woman never told investigators McGregor threatened her life. They also showed surveillance video in court that they said appeared to show the woman kiss McGregor’s arm and hug him after they left the hotel room. Farrell said she looked “happy, happy, happy.”
McGregor said that when he was first questioned by police, he read them a prepared statement. On the advice of his lawyer, he refused to answer more than 100 follow-up.
