McGregor raped woman in hotel, civil court jury finds

A woman who accused Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor of raping her in a Dublin hotel six years ago has won her claim against him for damages in a High Court civil case.

- JABED AHMED, JANE DALTON

She told the court she thought she would die during the attack when she was left with extensive bruises and abrasions and serious physical and psychological injuries. She was also diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. McGregor had denied a claim that he “brutally raped and battered” the woman.

The UFC fighter and boxer previously told Ireland’s high court that he had consensual sex in a penthouse at the Beacon Hotel, south Dublin, in December 2018. After deliberating for six hours and 10 minutes, the jury returned with their verdicts in the civil trial.

The jury awarded €248,603.60 (£206,751) in damages to the victim, who broke down several times as she gave evidence for nearly three days. She said the case began after she and a friend made contact with McGregor, whom she knew, after a work Christmas party.

She shared how he drove them to a party in a penthouse room of a hotel, and they partied all night and into the morning. They drank heavily and took cocaine, she said. McGregor took her to a bedroom and sexually assaulted her, she claimed. The jury heard that she thought she would never see her child again when the star was “choking” her.