Woman accusing Conor McGregor of rape thought he was ‘going to kill her’

A woman who accused Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor of raping her believed the 36-year-old was going to kill her, saying he “wouldn’t take no for an answer”, a Dublin court has heard.

Nikita Ni Laimhin, also known as Nikita Hand, is seeking civil damages against Mr McGregor and another man, alleging she was sexually assaulted in December 2018.

Ms Ni Laimhin has accused Mr McGregor of pinning her to a bed and raping her in a Dublin hotel.

The mother-of-one was left with extensive bruising and abrasions across her body, including purple and blue bruises along her hands and wrists, a bloody scratch on her chest and tenderness in her neck after being placed in a ‘chokehold’. by Mr McGregor, the court was told.

In her testimony at the High Court in Dublin, Ms Ni Laimhin said Mr McGregor kept telling her to “relax, honey” as she told him she was uncomfortable.

The court heard on Tuesday that McGregor’s lawyers will say the act between him and Ms Ni Laimhin – who is not automatically entitled to anonymity – was consensual.

The fighter, nicknamed ‘Notorious’, was in court to hear Judge Alexander Owens tell the jury that Ms Ni Laimhin was sexually assaulted by Mr McGregor and James Lawrence on December 9.

The judge said it is alleged the pair “effectively raped” her.

The court was told McGregor had picked up Ms Ni Laimhin, a hairdresser in Dublin, and her friend after a Christmas party on December 8.

John Gordon SC for Ms Ni Laimhin said the pair knew each other because they were in the same age group, from the same area and had mutual friends and had been in touch at various times on social media.

At the time, she lived in the Dublin suburb of Drimnagh with her partner and seven-year-old daughter.

She and she had been out with friends the night of the alleged incident.

Mr Gordon said Mr McGregor was “hugely famous” and regarded as a “hero” around Drimnagh.

He said his client was “not an angel” and “does not pretend to be an angel”.

That night she had been drinking and using some cocaine. The court also heard she suffered from depression and was taking antidepressants.

The court was told that Ms Ni Laimhin and two of her friends returned to her salon later that evening where they continued to party and that at some point she contacted Mr McGregor.

In her testimony in court, Ms Ni Laimhin said Mr McGregor had picked her and a friend up from the salon and understood they would be taken to another party.

He sat in the backseat with the two women while his driver took them around residential areas and honked the horn.

Later they went to the home of Mr. Lawrence, who was in the car with them.

The court was told that Mr McGregor had a bag of cocaine with him, which was shared between the complainant and her friend.

The group, which included the complainant, Mr McGregor, and his security team, then went to a penthouse suite at the Beacon Hotel in Dublin.

She told the court they were all drinking and laughing and the mood was “fine”.

She told the court that McGregor sat on the toilet shortly after their arrival and told Ms Ni Laimhin to “suck that”.

“I remember being in the bedroom at the time and there was a guard standing at the window and another guard closing the door between the two rooms. “I remember thinking, why are there three men in the room and I’m the only one here,” she added.

Ms Ni Laimhin was then left alone in the bedroom with Mr McGregor when he tried to “come to me”, and tried to kiss her and rub her face.

‘I knew what he was looking for. I said I didn’t feel comfortable, Conor. I said I know Dee (Mr. McGregor’s partner) and I know her family.

“I tried to talk to him about how I didn’t want to have sex and that I wasn’t there for something like that.

“He just wouldn’t take no for an answer. He pinned me to the bed and told me to relax, honey. I remember raising my arms to keep him away from me.

“He kept pushing his weight on me.”

It is later claimed by the defense that she then had sex with Mr Lawrence, but Mr Gordon said she has no recollection of such an event ever taking place.

The court also heard from Dr Daniel Keane, who works as both a gynecologist and forensic examiner in sexual assault cases.

He told the court he was working in the emergency department of Dublin’s Rotunda Hospital when Ms Ni Laimhin was brought in by ambulance on December 10.

Dr. Keane said she was “very upset” and “shaking and crying”.

He told the court they had to buy a blanket for her to sit on because of the pain she was in.

In his report, Ms Ni Laimhin had told him that morning that the alleged attacker had her by the neck and that he had prevented her from breathing.

He told the court she also claimed she had stopped fighting him and thought he was going to kill her.

Dr. Keane detailed extensive bruising on Ms Ni Laimhin’s body, including her face, arms, fingers, forearms, knuckles, legs, lower back and buttocks.

She also had a 9cm scratch on her left breast.

She also stated that Ms Ni Laimhin was concerned about a tampon she had been wearing the night she was allegedly attacked.

Dr. Keane explained how to use tweezers to remove the tampon that was “stuck inside”.

He told the court how he has carried out hundreds of examinations on women, and said the extent of bruising on Ms Ni Laimhin was “quite unusual”.

Mr Gordon told the court: ‘In light of this, Mr McGregor will tell you that this was a consensual encounter, they were just having fun and having a bit of rough sex. That’s his answer.

‘What did I say about common sense? Don’t be misled by leaving it in this (court)room.

“What he is saying is that she gave him permission to carry out a brutal attack on her body.”

The defense claimed in the evidence booklet that Ms Ni Laimhin had several opportunities to complain to people about the way she was treated, but she did not.

The court will also allege that Ms Ni Laimhin is involved in an attempted extortion.

Mr Gordon said his client has been called a “gold digger and a fraudster”, adding: “Brave. But where is the courage in this? Courage ultimately rests with my client.

“Because she has continued her mission for justice and compensation to which she is entitled. And that these defendants will dismiss her claim lightly and brazenly is something you will consider in due course.”

Previously, the jury was sworn in at the Supreme Court and told that they are de facto judges of what happened and will have to reach a conclusion based on their decision.

The promotion is expected to last approximately two weeks.