Australian court begins trial of former staffer Bruce Lehrmann accused of sexual assault in Parliament House

On Tuesday, the highly anticipated trial of Australia’s former Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lehrmann began at the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court, in the country’s national capital Canberra. The trial of Lehrmann is over the alleged sexual assault of former co-worker Brittany Higgins, in the Parliament House in Canberra in March 2019.

The alleged sexual assault was said to have happened at the former defence minister’s office sparking debate surrounding the security at the nation’s political hub. Today’s trial is being presided over by ACT Supreme Court Justice Lucy McCallum and is scheduled to last up to six weeks.

The prosecutor Shane Drumgold in his opening address said that the 16-person jury will hear evidence that Higgins had been “as drunk as she had ever been in her life” after “a drunken night out” with colleagues at two bars – Dock and 88mph in Canberra, on the night that the alleged incident took place.

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Meanwhile, Lehrmann has pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent from Higgins. If charged, he could face up to 12 years in prison. The case has faced a lot of delays partly due to the media commentary surrounding the high-profile case after Higgins came forward with the allegations, said reports.

Drumgold went on to outline the prosecution’s version of the events that happened on March 22, 2019. According to media reports, the prosecutor said that there is CCTV evidence which suggests that Higgins had at least 11 drinks that night, which is why her memory was “unsurprisingly patchy”. The case is being based on Higgin’s level of intoxication as the prosecution believes that it is important and relevant to her ability to consent to have sexual intercourse with Lehrmann at the time.

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Drumgold went on to say that Higgins remembered leaving the 88mph bar in the early hours of Saturday morning and sharing a taxi with Lehrmann. He told her that needed to go via the Parliament House. Subsequently, Lehrmann told guards at the entrance of Parliament House that he worked for the Defence Industry Minister Linda Reynolds and they were here to pick up some documents.

Reportedly, Drumgold said that the guards who saw the duo observed that they were inebriated. Higgins alleged that after they entered the minister’s office she fell asleep and woke up “on the couch with the accused having sex with her” said the prosecutor, after which Lehrmann allegedly left in an Uber and she fell asleep again.

Drumgold further indicated that his client remembered waking up because of “the pain in her leg” which she said was caused by the accused’s knee digging into her thigh. He added that Higgins was “crying throughout the entire process” and saying “no at least half a dozen times”.
In the days following the incident, Higgins described herself as “barely lucid” and so intoxicated “I couldn't write my own name”, said local media reports.

Drumgold in the court also said that she woke up in the office later that morning when a guard had come to check on her, she also texted her friend at the time that “If he (Lehrmann) thought it was O.K. why would he have just left me there?” The prosecution also accused Lehrmann of lying about his reasons to go to the Parliament House that night based on the differing accounts of the alleged incident.

The prosecution told the jury that Higgins and Lehrmann arrived at the Parliament at 1:41 am on the night of the alleged sexual assault, he did not have his security pass and told the security that he was there to “pick up some documents”. However, when he was questioned about this breach of security protocol the following Tuesday, by Reynolds’s office manager Fiona Brown, he said: “to drink some whiskey and had two glasses”.

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In April 2021, when first questioned by the police the prosecution said Lehrmann had offered two separate reasons which they argue are a lie and “highly unlikely”. On the other hand, Defense lawyer Steven Whybrow said that there are “massive holes” in the series of events that Higgins told the police about.

He also went on to acknowledge the violence against women being an “underreported and under-prosecuted scourge on our society,” however, he argued that what Higgins said was not true. Whybrow also talked about “the elephant in the room” referring to Higgins’ move of going to the media in 2021 and giving an interview with two journalists, before going to the police.

Reportedly, she had first reported the incident in 2019 but withdrew her complaint because of how it would affect her job during the upcoming election campaign. “Mark Twain once said: 'Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.' And this case is the epitome of that phrase,” said Whybrow in his opening statement. While also asked the jurors to ignore the previous media coverage which he said has snowballed.

ALSO WATCH:Australian PM Scott Morrison apologises to Brittany Higgins in Parliament

The panel of 16 jurors includes 10 men and 6 women including the 4 reserves who were selected given the long duration of the case. The supreme court judge described the case as a “cause celebre” due to its high profile and went on to say that “It is a fundamental requirement that a person accused of a serious criminal offence be tried by an impartial jury.”

The case could also see at least 52 witnesses, by the prosecution the names of which Drumgold read out and Whybrow read out the names of 10 potential witnesses that they would present for the case.

Higgins who has since become a prominent advocate for women’s rights, her allegations and complaints of lack of support from her former conservative government ranks sparked a nationwide protest after which former Prime Minister Scott Morrison issued an apology.

(With inputs from agencies)