Australia Federal Court docket Justice Michael Lee found that former authorities adviser Bruce Lehrmann raped a colleague in a Parliament Home workplace on Monday. The decide dismissed a defamation lawsuit Lehrmann introduced in opposition to the Australian media firm Community Ten after it aired an interview together with his accuser, Brittany Higgin.
Lee discovered that, underneath the civil customary of proof of “stability of chances,” there was sufficient proof to conclude that Lehrmann raped Higgin. Lee famous that it is a decrease customary of proof than what’s required to be discovered responsible in a felony trial, which is past an affordable doubt. Lee additionally famous that Lehrmann “isn’t entitled to the vindication of his fame.”
In 2021, Higgins, a former member of the Australian Parliament, claimed a colleague at Parliament Home raped her after an evening out in Canberra. She recounted the occasions in an unique interview, saying that after consuming with colleagues in March 2019, she took an Uber to Parliament Home with a person who allegedly raped her. The interview didn’t identify Lehrmann, however he claimed that it contained sufficient data to determine him because the alleged rapist. He denied the allegations, claiming that no sexual exercise had taken place, however he pleaded not responsible in court docket to 1 rely of non-consensual sexual activity.
Lehrmann couldn’t press defamation expenses whereas the felony trial was ongoing, so he requested the court docket for permission to increase the interval to file a lawsuit, which is why it took so lengthy to go to trial.
The trial began in October 2022 however was later halted attributable to inadmissible actions by jury members. Prosecutors withdrew the costs as an alternative of requesting a retrial, claiming that additional authorized motion may create an “unacceptable danger” to Higgins’ well being.
The revelation prompted a big uproar in Australian politics and led to an apology from then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who promised to conduct an inquiry into the legislature. In 2023, Australian federal Lawyer-Common Mark Dreyfus announced that sexual assault legal guidelines throughout the nation will likely be improved within the coming years.
