The woman who successfully sued Conor McGregor for personal injuries from sexual harassment in 2018, Nikita Hand, was forced to move after her property was invaded in June by a group of masked men wearing balaclavas and armed with weapons, multiple Irish sources reported on Friday.
The men also stabbed Hand’s partner and smashed the front windows of his home, according to reports, which were released after the trial at Dublin High Court.
Details of the attack were submitted to the Supreme Court by Hand’s legal team ahead of a non-jury trial, outlets reported. Judge Alexander Owens, who oversaw the trial, said the evidence was irrelevant to the case and should not go to trial.
McGregor was found guilty of sexual assault on Friday from a December 2018 encounter in Dublin. Hand, 35, said she was raped by McGregor and another man, James Lawrence, in a penthouse suite at the Beacon Hotel. The High Court awarded €248,603.60 ($259,149.36) in hand, despite the fact that it was a civil case and not a criminal one, McGregor will not face criminal charges.
The jury found that Lawrence did not strike Hand.
During the trial, the jury was told that Hand was asking for money to move to another place in Dublin but was not told why the request was being made. According to the court, jurors heard a brief statement about his transfer from Hand’s doctor, Frank Clarke, who told the court that he left the place because of “something that happened”.
The jury also heard from valuer Patrick Sheehan, who valued the Drimnagh estate for £430,000. Sheehan was asked to sell houses in the “highest areas” of Dublin, all of which cost between €500,000 and €700,000.
Before the jury was sworn in, Hand’s chief justice, Ray Boland, told the judge that his legal team wanted to introduce the incident that took place on June 14, according to reports. He described armed men entering Ruoko’s house and his partner being stabbed while chasing the intruders from their bedroom.
He also said that Hand’s young daughter called 999 to alert the police during the attack and that the burglars smashed the front windows of the house before the Garda arrived.
Boland insisted that Hand’s legal team “was very clear that it was not putting itself at the feet of the defendants.” [McGregor] or claim to have anything to do with it,” but instead claimed that it was not an attack on them and arose from McGregor’s supporters.
Boland said he would have no difficulty in telling the jury that McGregor had nothing to do with it, but Boland maintained that the attack on him was related to Hand’s comments that he should leave Drimnagh and that it was related to his anxiety.
McGregor’s senior lawyer, Remy Farrell, said the move was something McGregor’s lawyers were unaware of before speaking to Boland and described it as an “extraordinary and unprecedented” offer to pay for the move.
McGregor continued to deny Hand’s allegations of sexual harassment in a statement on Friday and announced his intention to appeal the verdict. In his court testimony, the former two-time UFC champion described his encounter with Hand as consensual, “athletic,” “strong” and “long.”
McGregor, 36, last competed in the UFC in July 2021 in a loss to Dustin Poirier, during which he suffered a broken leg. The UFC has yet to comment on whether McGregor has been found guilty of sexual harassment.