Two charged with perjury in Conor McGregor sexual assault case

On Tuesday, September 29, an Irish court formally charged a Dublin couple with perjury.

Conor McGregor has been fighting a sexual assault case for more than five and a half years. Despite swearing his innocence, he was found liable in a civil court for the 2019 sexual assault of Nikita Hand. While McGregor is unable to appeal the assault verdict, the case remains in the news because a couple, Samantha O’Reilly and Steven Cummins, allegedly lied under oath in support of McGregor.

O’Reilly and Cummins attempted to help McGregor’s case by claiming they saw Nikita Hand getting beaten up by her boyfriend around a similar timeframe to the UFC star’s reported assault. If the statements were true, they would have severely damaged Hand’s civil case against McGregor and destroyed her credibility.

The couple stated that they were Hand’s next-door neighbors and witnessed her being violently kicked and punched outside of her home. McGregor’s team wanted to use the claim to strengthen their client’s argument, but the statements were voided when investigators found out that the couple did not live there at the time of the incident. And because they signed their names to the testimonies under oath, they have now been criminally charged with perjury for providing false written statements.

Samantha O’Reilly and Steven Cummins will stand trial for perjury. Released on continuing bail, the couple is scheduled to return to court on November 9 at the Dublin District Court.

Depending on the pair’s guilty or not guilty plea, they could face potential prison time or heavy fines. Conor McGregor civil appeal has already been rejected, and no further appeals can be made. McGregor is legally required to pay Nikita Hand over $280,000 after an Irish civil court jury found him liable for Hand’s sexual assault. An additional $1.5 million in legal fees is also reported.