Woman ‘raped by man she met on Tinder’ after watching Conor McGregor fight

A WOMAN claimed she was raped by a man she met on Tinder after watching a fight with Conor McGregor.

The 31-year-old said she was attacked by Christopher Harkins, 37, at his mother’s home in Newlands, Glasgow, on September 23, 2018.

The woman told a jury that she had previously watched the replay of the MMA fight with Harkins and his family before they went to bed.

She stated that Harkins approached her even though she had no interest in sex and “did it anyway.”

The woman also recalled being recorded having sex without consent with the “persistent” Harkins at his home in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire.

Harkins is on trial at the Supreme Court in Paisley where he is accused of three counts of rape against the woman.

Harkins, from Helensburgh, is also accused of sexual offenses against her and another woman.

Harkins also allegedly assaulted another woman, endangering her life, and allegedly assaulted a fourth woman.

The total of 18 indictments date between January 2013 and May 2019.

The court heard Harkins met the woman on the dating app Tinder in August 2018.

The woman recalled going to bed with Harkins at his mother’s house after watching a Conor McGregor fight in the early hours of the morning.

She said: “I remember him getting closer to me and trying to have sex with me but I wasn’t interested.”

“The more I resisted or showed my disinterest, the more interested he became. He started it anyway.”

She stated that she did not want to have sex with Harkins at his mother’s house.

The woman claimed she was “angry and upset” about the situation.

The woman recalled another incident when she “gave in” to sex with the “persistent” Harkins at his Cumbernauld flat.

She told the court she noticed Harkins filming her with a phone and told him to stop.

Prosecutor Scott McKenzie asked the witness how she felt when she saw the phone.

She replied: “I was angry. He was aware that I didn’t want to be filmed.”

Mr McKenzie: “Did you agree to him filming you?”

The woman: “No.”

Mr. McKenzie: “How did you feel?”

The woman: “Terrible. He said things like, “Imagine your father saw that.”

“I didn’t show any emotion.”

The woman said she asked Harkins to delete the video and allegedly received a screenshot of it.

The court heard from another woman who said Harkins added her on Facebook in April 2015.

She stated that she was “vulnerable” at the time as she had just ended a relationship and was “pretty naive”.

The couple began a relationship, but the woman claimed Harkins had “changed” towards her.

She said: “He made comments about my appearance, the color of my lipstick and my nail polish.”

“He made comments on things I posted online and on Instagram.”

The woman added that Harkins had a “real problem” with nail polish and lipstick.

She said: “One evening before I went to work I was putting on nail polish that matched my dress and he kicked my leg.”

“He kicked it out of my hand and it fell over the sofa – that upset me for obvious reasons.”

The woman further claimed that she was “manipulated” by Harkins, who was also “controlling” and violent.

Mr McKenzie asked the witness how violent Harkins had been towards her.

She replied: “He threw me to the ground, the other time he grabbed my face tightly and pulled me towards him.”

“He pulled my hair more than once and another time he put his hand around my neck and held it – I couldn’t move.”

The woman claimed Harkins pinned her to the bed with his hand around her neck, preventing her from breathing.

She said: “I thought, this is it, this is terrible, this is how I’m going to die.”

Mr McKenzie asked the woman how she reacted after the incident and she said: “I was completely shocked – no one had ever done anything like that before.”

“It was a surreal moment that I really had to get out of the relationship.”

She initially contacted police in late 2015 and no action was taken, but officers visited her in 2020 when a statement was made.

Mr Meehan explained to the witness that there had been arguments between her and Harkins but that he had not used any violence.

She replied: “That’s wrong, there was violence.”

Mr Meehan: “There were no threats.”

The woman: “Wrong, there were a lot of threats.”

The trial continues before Judge Alistair Watson.