A jury in a civil trial at Ireland’s High Court has found that Irish martial arts fighter Conor McGregor attacked a woman who accused him of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018.

McGregor was ordered to pay almost €250,000 (£210,000) in damages to Nikita Hand, also known as Nikita Ní Laimhín.

Lawyers for Hand had accused McGregor, 36, of brutally raping and assaulting her after she invited him to join her and a friend at a work Christmas party at Dublin’s Beacon Hotel in December 2018.

Hand also alleged that another man, James Lawrence, who had joined the party, sexually assaulted her. The jury found that Lawrence had not assaulted Hand.

Hand, 35, told reporters outside court after the verdict that she was “overwhelmed” by the support she had received. She thanked her family and a rape crisis center worker who sat next to her “throughout the entire period,” including the two-week trial.

“I want to show (her daughter) Freya and all the other girls and boys that you can stand up for yourself if something happens to you, no matter who the person is, and that justice will be served,” Hand said.

“To all victims of sexual assault, I hope my story is a reminder that no matter how scared you are, speak up, have a voice and keep fighting for justice.”

She added that she hoped to rebuild her life now that the six-year ordeal was over.

Hand, who grew up in the same Dublin area as McGregor, viewed the civil case primarily as a way to get justice, her lawyer had told the court, after the director of public prosecutions decided not to pursue a criminal case under the fact that there is no reasonable prospect of a conviction.

McGregor fell forward with his head in his hands and shook his head as the jury returned its verdict and awarded Hand €248,603 in damages.

There were tense scenes in the courtroom as McGregor arrived with a large contingent of supporters and family, including his partner, Dee Devlin, his mother, Margaret McGregor, and sister Aoife McGregor, along with his boxing coach, Philip Sutcliffe, who stood just a few feet away. distance was in the back. from Hand.

McGregor denied the allegations and said he had “completely consensual sex” with Hand. He also denied causing her bruises. He told the court that Hand’s accusations against him were “full of lies”, bordering on “fantasy”.

Hand had told the court that she and a friend had contacted McGregor, whom she knew, after a work Christmas party. She said they were driven by McGregor to a party at a penthouse of a south Dublin hotel where drugs and alcohol were consumed. She said McGregor took her to a bedroom in the penthouse and sexually assaulted her. Hand’s attorney, John Gordon, said Hand was on antidepressants and “high on drugs” at the time of the alleged attack.

The verdict is likely to raise new questions about the difficulty of bringing rape cases to court. Hand’s lawyer told the court this week that whatever the outcome, she would “always be a scarred woman” because she had the “courage” to stand up to the fighter.

Hand had told the jury she was “absolutely devastated and let down” when the director of public prosecutions told her they would not be pursuing her case any further.

During the two weeks of the trial, the jury heard harrowing stories about the incident, including a 45-minute recording of a conversation in which a heartbroken Hand told her then-boyfriend about the alleged rape.

The court heard Hand say McGregor pinned her to the bed with all his body weight, claiming he put her head in a headlock, strangling her three times in a ‘terrifying’ episode.