Conor McGregor's alleged rape victim wipes away tears in court

A woman who alleges she was raped by Conor McGregor has claimed that the more she struggled, the more the mixed martial arts fighter seemed to like it.

Nikita Hand, who is also known as Nikita Ni Laimhin, said she froze, and thought she was 'going to die', fearing she would not see her young daughter again as McGregor allegedly grabbed her neck in a chokehold.

Nikita Hand told the High Court: 'I just let him do whatever he decided to do after that, so I could survive.'

Ms Hand, a 35-year-old hair stylist from Drimnagh in Dublin, wiped away tears and was visibly shaking as she gave evidence on the second day of her civil case against Mr McGregor and his friend, James Lawrence, of Rafters Road, Drimnagh.

She broke down several times as she gave evidence and sought a number of breaks.

Ms Hand is now claiming civil damages against both men, alleging they each raped her twice at a cocaine and drink-fuelled party at the Beacon Hotel in Dublin, in December 2018. 

Both have issued a blanket denial to her allegations, suggesting that her claim for damages is 'tantamount to extortion', the court has heard.

The jury has also heard how Ms Hand - who has no automatic right to anonymity -claimed she was initially frightened to press charges, and how she believed Mr McGregor would 'get away with it anyway'.

They also heard how after she did make a statement to Gardaí, the DPP decided not to pursue a criminal charge against either man. 

Describing her attack, Ms Hand told her barrister Ray Boland: 'He pinned me down to the bed and pressed his whole body down on top of me and I couldn't breathe. 

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'I had my two arms up. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe. The more I tried to get away or struggle the more he liked it.'

She asked for a break, explaining: 'I'm finding this very hard, I'm sorry.'

When the jury returned, she said: 'The only thing I could move was my head, so my only defence was to try and bite.'

Asked if she did bite him, she replied: 'I did, yeah. I don't know exactly where, but I know he didn't like it so he flipped me around and had me by the neck and tried to choke me.'

She later continued: 'I was standing by the bed. Conor was coming on to me. I tried to talk to him, [say] that I wasn't there for the sex.' 

She said she told him that she knew his partner Dee Devlin and her family, as her boyfriend was friends with Dee's brother.

'He then pinned me to the bed… I bit him and then I tried to get away from him,' she said.

'I was shoving and trying to wriggle my way out and do whatever I could. I remember biting him really hard. 

'He put his arm around my neck, choking me. He was behind me. I was shoving and trying to fight as much as I could.

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'I kept thinking I was going to die and never going to see my daughter again. The first choke hold was not long, the second was not long, the third one he held it longer. It was more stronger. I just thought I was going to die.'

She told the court: 'I promised him that I wouldn't tell anyone anything. I just let him do whatever he decided to do after that, so I could survive.'

'He was just really aggressive with me, pulling my clothes and shoving my head down for me to do things, and pulling my head back. 

'My clothes were on, he was dragging at my clothes. He was trying to push my head down to his penis and I kept pushing myself away.'

She alleged to the court that Mr McGregor then raped her, stating: 'It felt like it went on for ages. And then it was over. It was done.'

'When he was raping me, I didn't feel anything. I was completely numb… I completely froze,' she told the court. 

The mother-of-one was left with extensive bruises and abrasions over her body, including purple and blue bruising along her hands and wrists, a bloodied scratch to her breast and tenderness to her neck after she was placed in a 'choke-hold' by Mr McGregor, the court was told. 

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The court previously heard that lawyers for Mr McGregor will say that what took place between him and Ms Hand was consensual. 

Ms Hand claimed that when she started to put her clothes back on, Mr McGregor told her to lie down with him, and that she fell asleep. 

She recalled then waking up in a panic, and reaching for her mobile phone to check the time, as her watch was not working.

Ms Hand then sent a text message to her partner, explaining: 'I was worried because I'd fallen asleep and obviously wasn't keeping in contact.

'I said: 'I'm having a great time, I'm so drunk.' I just didn't want to worry him.'

She said she remembered Mr McGregor and her friend leaving in one car, and herself and James Lawrence remaining at the hotel.

She said she broke down, as she looked at her bruised arms, adding: 'Things were coming back to me. Reality was kind of hitting.'

She asked Mr Lawrence how he and the others could 'turn a blind eye' to what Mr McGregor had done. 

'I remember he said: 'I can't believe I was here when that was happening to you.'

She told the court that Mr Lawrence had tried to calm her down, and had ordered food and drinks. 

She did not recall leaving the Beacon, and only remembered waking up in a taxi. She said she did not want to go home and 'face reality' and tell her then-partner what allegedly happened. 

She went to the home of her salon manager, to return the salon keys following the staff Christmas party the day before, which she had attended before meeting up with Mr McGregor and Mr Lawrence. 

'I just remember arriving at Emer's house and telling her what happened,' she said. 'She just was really upset for me and told me not to go home and have a shower, to ring the rape crisis centre. 

'Then she told me do you want me to take pictures of your body and I said, yeah.'

She said she then went home to her partner, and that her seven-year-old daughter was in the house in Drimnagh.

'I told him what happened but I didn't tell him who it was. I didn't want to face it,' she said.

She went to bed, and the following morning on December 9 went to her mother's house, as she felt scared being alone after her partner had gone to work, the court heard. 

'When she seen me she knew I was after being hurt,' Ms Hand told the court. 

'I asked her to bring me to A&E so we could get the tampon out and I could just forget about everything. She said you can't just do that. She rang an ambulance.'

Ms Hand said the police came to her mother's house before the ambulance arrived. 

She said she suffered from panic attacks in the ambulance on the way to the Rotunda Hospital, where she attended the sexual assault treatment unit. 

She said it was 'the worst thing I ever had to go through'. 

On January 5, 2019, she made a full statement to the Gardaí and was then called back to the station the following month. 

Here she learned for the first time that Mr Lawrence had told them he had consensual sex twice with her. 

'I have no memory whatsoever of that. I never had a problem with James. I just thought James was looking out for me and then he says things like that,' she said. 

'I was just in complete shock.' 

She said she went back to work after a month, but suffered badly with anxiety which led to her ultimately having to give up her role. 

She then separated from her partner around six months after the alleged attack and had to move out of her home in Drimnagh, with her mortgage now in arrears, the court heard.

Ms Hand also alleged she had to stop seeing a counsellor because she could no longer afford to pay for the sessions.

The jury also heard that she has spent more than 4,000 euro on GP, pharmacy and psychotherapist costs.

The jury saw CCTV footage of Ms Hand, Mr McGregor, Mr Lawrence, her friend and a number of security guards arriving at the Beacon Hotel at around 12.15pm on Sunday, December 8. 

It also showed one of those security guards leaving at around 4.35pm that afternoon to buy condoms in a nearby Londis, before returning.

Mr McGregor is seen leaving the hotel in a car at around 6.15pm. 

Ms Hand and Mr Lawrence then return to the hotel, collect a key from reception and go back to the penthouse suite. 

Both are barefoot, and Ms Hand is carrying a bottle of Bacardi, as well as her shoes and bag, the jury were told. 

She is seen kissing Mr Lawrence on the cheek, and hugging him.

The case continues.