Perjury charges have been brought against two individuals who signed affidavits on Conor McGregor’s behalf prior to his appeal of the guilty verdict he received for assaulting a woman named Nikita Hand.
In February 2025, after being found guilty of assaulting Nikita Hand in a penthouse at Dublin’s Beacon Hotel in December 2018, Conor McGregor filed an appeal. The jury reportedly awarded her about $262,000 in damages.
During the trial, Nikita Hand vividly detailed how Conor McGregor “brutally raped and battered” her. After the trial, McGregor denied any wrongdoing and asserted that their relationship was consensual.
Following Conor McGregor’s unsuccessful appeal, two people have been accused of perjury
On Tuesday, Sky News reported that Samantha O’Reilly, 38, and Steven Cummins, 39, appeared in Dublin District Court charged with knowingly making false statements in court. The allegations follow a police review of evidence submitted in the Conor McGregor’s unsuccessful appeal.
In their sworn affidavits for the appeal, O’Reilly and Cummins claimed to have lived across from Nikita Hand and her then-partner at the time of Conor McGregor’s assault.
O’Reilly claimed to have witnessed Hand’s ex-boyfriend moving in a manner that implied he was striking and kicking her. Cummins also claimed that O’Reilly and their daughter woke him up and that he heard shouting and screaming coming from Hand’s house across the street.
Nikita Hand denied any altercation with her former partner, and the claims in the affidavit and the application to admit O’Reilly and Cummins’ testimony were withdrawn by Conor McGregor’s side at the start of his appeal.
The accused did not comment on the charges made against them
According to The Irish Times, the couple, who reside in Cherry Orchard Green, Ballyfermot, will stand trial on indictment under a directive from the Director of Public Prosecutions. This means the Circuit Court, which can impose heavier penalties on conviction, will hear the case. The maximum penalty for this offense is ten years in prison.
The court ordered them to return to the District Court on November 9th so that the prosecution may serve them with books of evidence and issue a return-for-trial order.
O’Reilly was taken into custody at her residence on Tuesday at 9.40 a.m., according to police, who told the court that she “made no reaction” when accused of the crimes. Cummins was taken into custody at the same location shortly thereafter, and he also did not comment on the charge.