Conor McGregor has been banned from sharing any CCTV material from the night of Nikita Hand’s assault.
The MMA star has also been ordered to hand over any copies of the CCTV material to his solicitor and delete any trace of the footage from his personal devices.
Last November a jury, in a civil action taken by Nikita Hand, found that McGregor sexually assaulted Nikita Hand, who accused him of rape, in the Beacon Hotel in Dublin on 9 December 2018.
Lawyers for Ms Hand sought an injunction to stop McGregor disseminating CCTV footage shown in court. McGregor’s legal team said no such order was needed.
However, Judge Owens said, on Thursday: “There is no need for him to hold copies of CCTV or disseminate it for purposes unconnected with the trial.”
“McGregor has a considerable following on social media, the internet being what it is, it risks being misused in a serious way,” he said.
He said had already “attacked the jury on social media”.
“The facts are clear, Nikita Hand sued Conor McGregor, a jury found McGregor raped Nikita Hand. That has been conclusively determined,” Judge Owens said.
On Thursday the judge also ordered Mr McGregor to pay €100,000 in damages and €200,000 in costs to Ms Hand.
Earlier he said the CCTV footage Nikita Hand would be used selectively and disseminated in the “dark hole of the internet,” if released.
The footage, almost 40 minutes long, was shown in open court and shows Ms Hand and McGregor in a lift before and after the assault.
Ms Hand’s legal team quoted newspaper articles on 5 January in which an Italian business associate of Mr McGregor’s indicated the “imminent publication” of the CCTV footage.
Gabriel Ernesto Rapisarda said this was to boost sales of an alcoholic beverage owned by Mr McGregor and distributed in Italy.
Remy Farrell SC, representing Mr McGregor said his client has not disseminated the material and had no conversation with Mr Rapisarda to that effect.
Speaking in court on Thursday, the judge noted posts by the business associate and Dee Devlin, Mr McGregor’s girlfriend.
Ms Devlin posted after the verdict that “CCTV does not lie, I look forward to the world seeing…”
The judge also quoted Mr Rapisarda, who “thinks it will be available to him and released in January”.
“It’s impossible to read that by anything other than the footage will be released this month,” the judge added.
“They have a business relationship, discussing stout in Italy, and an explosion of the brand when footage is seen.”
‘Substantial risk’
The judge said this “clearly points to a severe danger that he will get it [the footage] and discussions have taken place.”
He went on to note that McGregor had posted a series of social media messages calling Nikita Hand “a liar”, something the judge said was “not on.”
“You cannot call a person a liar, that’s not on, that’s implying someone has perjured themselves in court,” he said.
Mr Farrell said there was no basis that the CCTV was disseminated post verdict, and McGregor has the CCTV in possession as he is “perfectly entitled” to have.
“This implication that the party is not entitled to have it in his possession is utter nonsense,” he said, adding that there is a plan to appeal the verdict in the assault case.
Mr Farrell said the reportage of the Italian businessman’s statements is “hearsay upon hearsay”.
“There’s no need for an order of any sort,” he said.
The judge said there was a “substantial risk that this (the dissemination) will happen.”
“Let’s get real about it,” he said.
“The internet is such at the moment that if this gets into the hands of anyone else it will be at the furthest corner of that dark hole and used by everybody.
“They won’t have to be told by McGregor what to do with it.”
The judge noted that if McGregor wants an appeal, another jury could have already seen the footage, and been influenced by it.
Ray Boland SC, representing Ms Hand, told the court that McGregor had scandalised the court with his social media postings.
“McGregor is in effect, having had his case fully litigated in front of a jury, decided having heard all of the evidence, decided he was liable, he is seeking to relitigate in the court of public opinion abusing his considerable social media following,” he said.
On his decision, Judge Owens said “there is a real and demonstrable risk that McGregor would show the CCTV to Mr Repisardo.”
What has happened so far?
Ms Hand who accused Conor McGregor of raping her won her claim against him for damages in a civil case.
A jury found that the Irish mixed martial arts fighter assaulted Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel in December 2018.
He was ordered to pay her more than €248,000 (£206,000) in damages.
Speaking outside the court following the decision, Ms Hand said her story was “a reminder that no matter how afraid you might be to speak up, you have a voice”.
McGregor said he would appeal against the verdict and he thanked “all my support worldwide”.
Ms Hand, a mother-of-one, told the court how McGregor had pinned her to a bed before assaulting her.
She was left with extensive bruises and abrasions over her body, including on her hands and wrists.
There was a bloodied scratch on her breast and tenderness on her neck after she said she was placed in a “chokehold” by McGregor.
He denied causing the bruising, saying it could have happened after she “swan dived” into the bath in the hotel room.
Ms Hand was taken in an ambulance to the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin the next day where she was assessed in the sexual assault treatment unit.
A paramedic who examined Ms Hand told the court that she had not seen “someone so bruised” in a long time.
The jury had been told how Ms Hand had to leave her job as a hairdresser and has not been able to work since due to her mental health, that her relationship with her partner ended months after the incident, that she had to move out of her home in Drimnagh and that her mortgage was now in arrears.
She also said she had to stop seeing a counsellor because she could no longer afford to pay for the sessions.
The court heard that she had spent more than €4,000 (£3,326) on GP, pharmacy and psychotherapy costs.
Legal costs
A judge later ruled that the MMA star must pay the legal costs of Ms Hand who accused him of raping her.
The judge said it was a “singular and peculiar case” and may bring proceedings against McGregor for social media posts.
McGregor, who had denied the allegations, has already said he will appeal.
Civil action
In a Republic of Ireland civil action – as opposed to a criminal case – neither the complainant nor the accused are entitled to automatic anonymity during the court proceedings.