McGregor Accuser Instructed Friends to Delete Messages, Citing ‘Fear for Life’

A woman alleging rape by Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor informed a court that she instructed friends and family to remove text messages, stating she was “in fear of her life”. Nikita Hand has initiated civil proceedings against Mr. McGregor and a second individual, seeking compensation for an alleged sexual assault that occurred in a Dublin hotel in December 2018. Mr. McGregor refutes these claims, and his legal representatives asserted in a previous hearing that Ms. Hand’s actions constitute an attempt at extortion. In 2020, Ireland’s Director of Public Prosecutions opted against criminal prosecution for either man, citing insufficient evidence and an improbable chance of conviction. Within the Republic of Ireland’s civil justice system, in contrast to criminal cases, neither the plaintiff nor the two defendants are granted anonymity throughout the court proceedings. During cross-examination by Mr. McGregor’s legal counsel, Ms. Hand testified that she had advised close friends and family members to remove messages from her that described the alleged rape, explaining that she was feeling paranoid. The barrister inquired whether Ms. Hand had instructed a woman, who departed the Beacon Hotel in the same vehicle as the MMA star, to delete messages. “I probably did cause I was afraid for my life,” she stated. “I don’t know when I told her. I would’ve told her to because I told other people to as well… I deleted my messages because I didn’t want to press charges because I was afraid.” The barrister suggested to Ms. Hand that she “seemed reluctant for guards (Irish police) to speak to” the other woman during her initial interview. Ms. Hand stated during her Garda interview that her concern stemmed from Mr. McGregor having driven the woman home and thus knowing her residence. In court, Ms. Hand expressed worry for her friend, explaining that her friend was also frightened. “I didn’t want to put her in a position where she would have to say anything she didn’t want to,” she testified. It was subsequently noted that after departing the hotel, Ms. Hand proceeded to her manager’s home to deliver salon keys. She recalled informing her manager that Conor McGregor had raped her. “I cant remember word for word, I was in an awful state. I know I told her I was raped, choked and had bruises,” she recounted. The lawyer questioned: “You don’t remember that you told her you woke up and two body guards came into the room and you thought you were going to be gang raped? “And you ran off because you thought you were going to be raped by the security guard?” Ms. Hand responded that she did not recall, attributing it to being “all over the place.” “Everything was going through my mind. I told her I’d been brutally raped, how could anyone be correct about everything in that state of mind?“I told her I was raped, battered and choked, the main detail. I do remember telling her it was Conor McGregor,” she stated. The barrister brought up CCTV footage from the Beacon Hotel, showing Mr. McGregor’s departure around 18:00 local time. A phone call was placed from Ms. Hand’s phone to Mr. McGregor, the barrister noted, inquiring about her reason for doing so. “I don’t know why I rang him,” Ms. Hand replied. She informed the court that the second defendant, James Lawrence, of Rafters Road in Drimnagh, Dublin, had taken the phone from her, a scene visible in the CCTV footage. The barrister stated that during nearly 20 minutes of footage, Mr. Lawrence and Ms. Hand were in the hotel’s basement, where she was observed kissing Mr. Lawrence on the cheek. The barrister also mentioned that, at times, they had their arms around each other. Ms. Hand stated she had no memory of this timeframe. “It’s not me, its not my character, you can see how vulnerable I was, I’m stumbling, I don’t want to have to look at it again. It’s very disturbing for me,” she asserted. Mr. McGregor’s barrister contended that the CCTV footage “contradicts the story you’ve told.” Becoming emotional, Ms. Hand disagreed. “That CCTV footage doesn’t take away what happened to me in that room with Conor. “I was brutally raped and battered, that CCTV does not take away what happened to me,” she insisted. The proceedings are ongoing.