‘I thought he was going to kill me’: Woman says Conor McGregor constantly told her to ‘relax, baby’ before alleged rape

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

Nikita Hand came to the podium on its very first day civil suit against McGregor, 36, and a second man, James Lawrence.

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Ms Hand, also known as Nikita Ní Laimhín, is suing the couple, alleging she was sexually assaulted and raped by two men on December 9, 2018.

Both men deny the charges.

Recounting her version of events in the penthouse of Dublin’s Beacon Hotel, she told how McGregor assaulted her but rejected his advances, saying she knew. DiMcGregor’s fiancee and his family.

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

“I tried to convince him that I didn’t need anything. I didn’t want to have sex. He simply wouldn’t take no for an answer. Then he pinned me to the bed.”

After he told her to relax several times, she said she remembered putting her hands to her chest.

She said: “He just kept putting his weight on me.”

It was previously claimed that McGregor had his alleged victim in a “death grip” in the penthouse and told her: “Now you know what it was like in the Octagon when I fell three times.”

The court heard Ms Hand had to have a tampon, which was inserted into her vagina, removed using forceps at the Rotunda Hospital the day after the alleged rape.

McGregor arrived at the High Court in Dublin today for the opening of the case in a dark blue suit and sat calmly in the courtroom throughout the day.

The jury of eight women and four men was sworn in and Hand’s legal team began trying the case.

Senior counsel for the plaintiff John Gordon said Ms Hand, 35, was a colorist and had a good career in the hairdressing business. She worked in a beauty salon in Goatstown.

On Christmas Eve 2018, she was 29 years old, the mother of a seven-year-old girl and had a partner. At that time they lived in Drimna.

Ms Hand had been in contact with McGregor up to this point and Mr Gordon said she was from the same age group, from the same area and had mutual friends and McGregor was extremely famous at the time.

The communication was “very friendly” court heard.

MESSAGING

Ms Hand attended a Christmas party on December 8th that year.
That night, she and others ended up in the pub before it closed, with some returning back to the salon where she worked.

Mr Gordon said Ms Hand was “not an angel and doesn’t pretend to be one”, adding that she “partied hard”.

She drank heavily, including Bacardi, beer and took cocaine, the court heard.

Ms Hand and McGregor were heard to exchange messages and he was driven to a location where he was a passenger in the car and picked up with her friend on the morning of December 9.

A car driven by McGregor’s security guard later stopped outside the house.

CLAIM FOR COCAINE

It is alleged McGregor entered the house for 15 to 20 minutes before leaving with his co-accused James Lawrence, who sat in the front passenger seat.

It is alleged that McGregor had a bag of cocaine.

He sat in the back seat of the car, and Nikita took some.

Later, they drove into the underground parking lot of the Beacon Hotel and took the elevator to the penthouse. Ms Hand didn’t know where she was at the time, but she knew it was a hotel. The court was told they were all drinking and laughing.

Mr Gordon told the court McGregor “came to her” but she did not want to have sex with him because she was on her period.

ATTACHED

Mr Gordon told the court that she said Mr McGregor pinned her to the bed and that she was unable to physically match him.

He added: “You’ll see pictures of her hands and wrists, black and blue. You will see that there is a bloody scratch on her left breast.

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

“She was under pressure and the hours left a scar on her chest.”

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

VISITING THE HOSPITAL

The court also heard from a gynecologist who was working in the Rotunda Hospital’s emergency department when Ms Hand arrived there from an ambulance on December 10, 2018.

Dr Daniel Kane said Ms Hand had agreed to undergo a full forensic examination at the hospital’s sexual assault unit.

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

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

“I tried to convince him that I didn’t need anything. I didn’t want to have sex. He simply wouldn’t take no for an answer. Then he pinned me to 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 held me by the neck.

“He prevented me from breathing several times. I thought he was going to kill me.”

The doctor noted “multiple” injuries. She had bruises on all four limbs, on her lower back and buttocks. He said these were consistent with bruises from fingerprints.

McGregor’s lawyers claim Hand is trying to extort money.

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

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