In a civil trial, a woman who claims she was raped by MMA star Conor McGregor has denied assertions that CCTV footage from the incident contradicts her account. She is suing McGregor and co-defendant James Lawrence for assault related to an alleged rape at Dublin’s Beacon Hotel in December 2018.
During an emotional cross-examination, the woman faced questioning from McGregor’s attorney, Remy Farrell SC. The CCTV footage, recorded after the time of the alleged assault, shows McGregor entering a lift with the woman, Lawrence, and the woman’s friend. Defense attorneys interpreted the footage as showing the woman affectionately approaching McGregor.
Describing the footage as “very disturbing,” the woman stated, “I’m very drunk, I’m stumbling. It’s not my character. I’m very vulnerable and I don’t want to have to look at it again.” The court took a brief recess as she became visibly upset.
Farrell questioned her about her account, pointing out that she was allegedly “black and blue” and feared for her life. She affirmed that those events did take place, but Farrell further probed, asking if she had “forgotten all that by the time you got into the lift,” to which she expressed confusion.
The woman asserted, “The CCTV footage doesn’t change what happened to me in that room with Conor. I know what happened; I was brutally raped and battered.”
She admitted to asking friends to delete messages from that night, explaining, “I was afraid for my life.” When Farrell noted that she had lied to her partner about her whereabouts, she replied, “It’s not a crime to tell your boyfriend a lie.”
The ongoing trial, which follows the Irish Director of Public Prosecutions’ decision not to prosecute, will continue this afternoon. McGregor and Lawrence both assert that their interaction with the woman was consensual, firmly denying any allegations of rape. The case is closely monitored amid broader discussions about consent and accountability in cases of sexual violence.
Credit: Sky News
