Conor McGregor has been ordered not to disseminate CCTV footage used in a High Court civil trial which resulted in a jury verdict that he raped a woman in a Dublin hotel.
Mr Justice Alexander Owens was satisfied there was a “real and demonstrable risk” that Mr McGregor would provide the CCTV footage to Gabriel Ernesto Rapisarda, an Italian business associate of the MMA fighter.
That would breach Mr McGregor’s implied undertaking to the court to use discovered materials only for the purpose for which they were provided to him and would be a civil contempt of court and a potential gross breach of Nikita Hand’s privacy rights, he said.
Ms Hand (35) was awarded almost €250,000 damages last November after a High Court jury upheld her civil claim she was raped by Mr McGregor in the Beacon Hotel in Sandyford on December 9th, 2018. The jury found James Lawrence (35), of Rafter’s Road, Drimnagh, a friend of Mr McGregor’s, had not assaulted Ms Hand in the hotel after Mr McGregor left the premises.
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Both men had denied her claims and pleaded consensual sex.
The CCTV played at trial shows Ms Hand interacting with Mr McGregor and Mr Lawrence in the car park and in the elevator to and from the hotel’s penthouse suite. Ms Hand denied the footage contradicted her claims and said she found it a “very hard watch” as she was drunk and stumbling. It did not take away from the fact she was “brutally raped and battered”, she said.
On Thursday, Mr Justice Owens said the jury had determined Mr McGregor raped Ms Hand on December 9th, 2018 at the Beacon Hotel and that remains the position “until such time, if ever”, as Mr McGregor can persuade a superior court to set aside the verdict and order a retrial.
Mr McGregor “does not get another run at the case” by throwing out allegations in the public arena that Ms Hand lied on oath or posting contrary things on social media using surrogates, he said.
He noted media articles had reported Mr Rapisarda had posted on social media that the CCTV would be released this month and would change the public’s view of the MMA fighter. Ms Hand’s solicitor, Dave Coleman, had said this was to boost sales of an alcoholic beverage owned by Mr McGregor and distributed in Italy by Mr Rapisarda. He said Mr McGregor intends to disseminate “selected” pieces of evidence given at the trial to undermine and discredit the jury’s verdict and to gain financially.
After failing last week to get undertakings from Mr McGregor not to disseminate the CCTV, an order was sought on Thursday.
Remy Farrell SC, with barrister Shelley Horan, for Mr McGregor, sought an adjournment, saying the application was based on inaccuracies and hearsay.
Mr McGregor had not disseminated the CCTV to Mr Lapisarda and he wanted to prepare an affidavit to address matters, Mr Farrell said.
In his ruling, the judge said he had not changed his initial view there was a “real and demonstrable risk” McGregor would provide the CCTV footage to Mr Rapisarda.
Mr McGregor had had plenty of time to deal with the substance of this matter which had to be dealt with “immediately”.
The CCTV was among items provided to Mr McGregor’s solicitors as part of the discovery process for the civil trial, he noted. Such materials may only be used for the purpose of that litigation.
Mr Lapisarda, a friend and business associate of Mr McGregor, had reportedly stated on Instagram sales of Mr McGregor’s stout would increase after the CCTV was released to show how Ms Hand behaved before and after the incident in the Beacon hotel, he said.
While accepting it would be “natural” for Mr McGregor to discuss the CCTV with his partner before the trial, the judge said as the trial is over, it is not necessary for Mr McGregor to retain the CCTV or any other discovery material and he was not entitled to circulate it for purposes unconnected with the trial.
Mr McGregor has a considerable following on social media and this material is “capable of being misused in a serious way”, the judge said.
Mr McGregor must not disseminate the CCTV and must return it and other discovered materials to his solicitor “forthwith”, must permanently delete any copies on phones or devices under his control and retrieve and destroy any copies provided to other people. He must provide an affidavit indicating what copies he had made of the footage and what had been provided to his solicitors, the judge directed.
Returning the matter to February 12th, the judge said the order will remain in place pending review in due course. That did not involve the court “prejudging anything” but rather acting, on foot of the evidence available, to prevent “any abuse of the court process”.
The judge also noted it appeared Mr McGregor had engaged in “irresponsible and intemperate comment” in relation to the result of the case, including calling Ms Hand a liar and attacking the jury verdict in a social media post on November 23rd, 2024.
The jury had “conclusively” determined Ms Hand’s rape claim against Mr McGregor, he said.
While it was “not appropriate” for any litigant to refer to the court as a kangaroo court, he did not himself propose to take any action about the post, the judge said. A proceeding for criminal contempt related to that post would be “a distraction” and would only keep it in the news.
Other orders made concerning costs mean Mr McGregor faces paying the bulk of Ms Hand’s €1.3m legal costs. The judge placed a stay on the costs orders pending appeal, on condition Mr McGregor pays Ms Hand €100,000 towards her damages and €200,000 towards her legal costs.
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