‘I’m not a monster,’ Higgins tells court
BRITTANY Higgins has returned to finish her evidence in the trial of Bruce Lehrmann, where she singled him out in the courtroom, saying “nothing was fine after what you did to me”.
Lehrmann, 27, has pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse with Ms Higgins without her consent, and being reckless to her consent in Parliament House on March 23, 2019.
Ms Higgins began her evidence last week but became unavailable to complete it on Monday – meaning the trial continued but no further evidence could be published.
Ms Higgins returned to the court on Friday morning to face questions from
Mr Lehrmann’s barrister, Steve
Whybrow.
Mr Whybrow questioned Ms Higgins about the exact moment she divulged the alleged rape to her chief of staff, Fiona Brown.
“I was holding it in, holding it in,” Ms Higgins told the court as her voice rose and she pointed a finger toward Mr Lehrmann. “Nothing was fine, nothing was fine after what you did to me – nothing.”
In her evidence on Friday, Ms Higgins was accused of fabricating the sexual assault allegation in order to keep her job in Senator Reynolds’ office.
Mr Whybrow put to the former Liberal staffer that once she had learned she had been found naked by a security guard, she fabricated the allegation to cover the “embarrassing situation”.
“Naturally I was embarrassed to be found in that state,” Ms Higgins told the court. “I was found naked because I was raped. I don’t know what more to say.”
Mr Whybrow told the court Ms Higgins did what she felt was “necessary” to have people believe she had been assaulted.
“I’m not a monster. I would never do something like that,” she said.
ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold is expected to close the Crown’s case on Tuesday.