A WOMAN who alleges Conor McGregor ‘brutally raped’ her in a Dublin hotel penthouse has finished giving evidence at the High Court, telling civil damages jury: ‘I know what happened in this room.”

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

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Mr McGregor and Mr Lawrence deny the allegations.

On her fourth day in the witness box, she today told lawyers for co-accused James Lawrence, of Rafter’s Road, Drimnagh, Dublin 12, that she had no memory of being in a lift with their customer.

They claim CCTV footage shows she “does not look like someone who has been violently raped” as she was “affectionate” and “biting his ear and kissing him”.

In the High Court today, Ms Hand, a hair colourist, was shown CCTV footage from the Beacon Hotel from December 9, 2018, but said she had no memory of much of her stay there.

Ms Hand is shown to be in a lift with Mr Lawrence at 6.51pm on the evening of the alleged rape by Mr McGregor, which she says happened earlier in the afternoon.

The court heard that Mr McGregor and a friend of Ms Hand left the hotel shortly after 6pm.

When Mrs. Hand went guard Alleging she had been raped by Mr McGregor, Mr Lawrence had to make a witness statement in which he claimed he had two consensual sexual encounters with Ms Hand after Mr McGregor left the Beacon at around 6.20pm.

John Fitzgerald SC, on behalf of Mr Lawrence, put it to Ms Hand, who is seen in the elevator carrying a drink, that she “does not look like someone who has been violently raped” because, a- he said, she was “affectionate”. towards Mr. Lawrence by “biting his ear and kissing him”.

Ms Hand told Mr Fitzgerald she had no memory of being in the lift with Mr Lawrence on that occasion.

Mr Fitzgerald advised Mr Hand that she, Mr Lawrence and a driver had left the hotel around 7pm and returned at 7.30pm via the car park, but Ms Hand again said she did not He had no memory of leaving or returning to the hotel.

The lawyer said that at 10.17 p.m. Ms Hand and Mr Lawrence were seen kissing and leaving the hotel for the last time arm in arm, to which Ms Hand again said she did not had no memory of it.

Mr Fitzgerald said: “You don’t look like someone who is upset about being violently raped earlier.”

Ms. Hand replied: “I’m drunk and tripping over walls. I don’t agree with you.”

Mr Fitzgerald said Ms Hand told Gardaí she was “not at all” attracted to Mr Lawrence, but said Ms Hand was acting in a “playful” manner on CCTV towards Mr Lawrence that night – there, which “looks like the opposite”.

“I’ll just tell you I don’t remember,” Ms. Hand said.

“I was completely drunk”

The complainant said she saw herself on CCTV but had “no memory” of the footage because “her mind was gone, I was completely drunk, my mind was gone”.

Mr Fitzgerald told Ms Hand that when she and Mr Lawrence left the hotel for 20 minutes before returning, they “kissed and decided to go back to the room to continue the intimacy”. Ms Hand denied this.

The lawyer further argued to Ms Hand that the kissing between her and Mr Lawrence “developed to the point where you had consensual sex and again used one condom and another for sex”, which Ms Hand denied.

“I think it’s a made-up story,” Ms. Hand said.

Mr. Fitzgerald let Ms. Hand know that she was trying to “remove James Lawrence from this (case)” by saying she had no recollection because it was “not a good idea” for Ms. Hand to having consensual sex with a friend of Mr. Hand. McGregor after accusing Mr. McGregor of raping her.

“I know what happened”

“I know what happened in that room,” Ms. Hand said.

Ms Hand said Gardai took the clothes and underwear she was wearing and they were damaged by Mr McGregor who pulled them when she said he raped her.

Regarding Mr Lawrence’s claim that he had consensual sex with the complainant, Ms Hand said she was not attracted to Mr Lawrence who she said had seen her cry and seen her blue.

“I wouldn’t have consented,” Ms Hand added.

The civil trial today also heard from Eimear Brennan, who was Ms Hand’s manager at the hair salon where she worked.

CHRISTMAS PARTY

The court heard that salon staff went to their Christmas party on December 8 before returning to the salon, where they drank and played music until around 7am.

The witness said Ms Hand called on the night of December 9 to say she would be at Ms Brennan’s home, telling him she was with Mr McGregor at a hotel and alleging he had raped her .

Ms Brennan said Ms Hand texted her on the way home to tell her she was “black, blue and broken”.

Once inside, Ms. Hand took off her jacket and Ms. Brennan said she could see bruising on Ms. Hand’s arm.

“STOP FIGHTING”

Ms Brennan said the complainant told her that Mr McGregor had strangled her three times, each time leaving her breathing, and that she had given up fighting and biting the accused and “let him do it what he wanted from her” because “all she could see”. was his daughter’s face.

Ms. Brennan said she saw bruising on Ms. Hand’s chest, thighs, knee, bottom, knuckles and a scrape on her jaw.

Ms Brennan took photos of some of the injuries but later deleted them and Ms Hand’s texts at the complainant’s request.

Detective Sergeant John Ryan said he took note of two meetings with Ms Hand, once at her mother’s house and another time when the complainant was speaking to a doctor at the sexual assault unit on the morning of Monday, December 10 2018.

DS Ryan said Ms Hand was “extremely distressed” and said she was afraid her attacker would kill her.

DS Ryan said Ms Hand said she was “terrified” of the man she alleged rape against, but did not want to name the man.

The detective was present at the doctor’s meeting during which a tampon had to be removed from Ms Hand using forceps.

The garda noted that Ms Hand said she drank beers, Bacardi and took cocaine between the Christmas party and her return home.

“COMPLETELY DEVASTATED”

The Garda said that later in the day he asked Ms Hand to make a statement, but Ms Hand said she was terrified and would not press charges.

Ms Hand went to Gardaí in January 2019, but the court heard she was “completely devastated” when she was told the Director of Public Prosecutions had decided not to prosecute Mr McGregor or Mr Lawrence because there was “no reasonable prospect” of conviction.

The trial continues Tuesday before Judge Alexander Owens and a jury of eight women and four men.

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