Australia judge rules in defamation trial that former government adviser raped colleague in parliament

Australia Federal Courtroom Justice Michael Lee discovered that former authorities adviser Bruce Lehrmann raped a colleague in a Parliament Home workplace on Monday. The choose 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, below the civil commonplace of proof of “steadiness of possibilities,” there was sufficient proof to conclude that Lehrmann raped Higgin. Lee famous that it is a decrease commonplace of proof than what’s required to be discovered responsible in a prison trial, which is past an affordable doubt. Lee additionally famous that Lehrmann “will not be entitled to the vindication of his repute.”

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 title 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 depend of non-consensual sexual activity.

Lehrmann couldn’t press defamation prices whereas the prison 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 a substitute of requesting a retrial, claiming that additional authorized motion may create an “unacceptable threat” to Higgins’ well being.

The revelation precipitated a major 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-Basic Mark Dreyfus introduced that sexual assault legal guidelines throughout the nation might be improved within the coming years.