HIGH PROFILE HIGGINS CASE
The LNP staffer ‘absolutely’ rejects the sex attack claims
FORMER Toowoomba Grammar School student Bruce Lehrmann (pictured left) can be identified as the man who has received a summons to appear in an ACT court on September 16 over allegations that he sexually assaulted Brittany Higgins (right) at Parliament House in Canberra.
Mr Lehrmann, who is said to be “distressed” and shocked by the single charge of sexual intercourse without consent, has vehemently denied the allegations and vowed to clear his name.
Lawyers for the Queensland man have said their client will defend the charge.
They will argue he never had sex with Ms Higgins after they returned to the office after midnight in March 2019.
Mr Lehrmann had worked for the Liberal Party for years, including for former attorneygeneral George Brandis’s office and Nationals MPs.
Mr Lehrmann left the Home Affairs Office shortly after the alleged rape to work in government affairs.
FORMER Toowoomba Grammar School student Bruce Lehrmann can be identified as the man who has received a summons to appear in an ACT court on September 16 over allegations that he sexually assaulted Brittany Higgins at Parliament House in Canberra.
Mr Lehrmann, who is said to be “distressed” and shocked by the single charge of sexual intercourse without consent, has vehemently denied the allegations and vowed to clear his name.
Lawyers for the Queensland man have said their client will defend the charge. They will argue he never had sex with Ms Higgins after they returned to the office after midnight in March 2019.
Mr Lehrmann had worked for the Liberal Party for years, including for former attorneygeneral George Brandis’s office and Nationals MPs.
Mr Lehrmann left the Home Affairs Office shortly after the alleged rape to work in government affairs for a consultancy business.
After attending Toowoomba Grammar School, he graduated from Anglican Church Grammar School in Brisbane and later from Australian National University with a degree in policy studies and Australian politics.
He held a number of posts in politics, including stints with the commonwealth attorney-general, health, sport and regional communications portfolios. He worked for Linda Reynolds in her former role as home affairs minister for six months from late in 2018 until shortly after the alleged rape in 2019.
Senator Brandis personally thanked Mr Lehrmann for his service in his valedictory speech.
Police confirmed they intend to charge Mr Lehrmann with sexual intercourse without consent after a six-month investigation into former Liberal staffer Ms Higgins’s allegations. The maximum penalty for the offence under ACT law is 12 years’ jail. “The man will face one charge of sexual intercourse without consent. The maximum penalty for this offence is 12 years imprisonment,’’ ACT Police said.
In a statement, Mr Lehrmann’s lawyer John Korn said he would unequivocally reject the allegation. “My client absolutely and unequivocally denies that any form of sexual activity took place at all,’’ Mr Korn said.
Mr Korn is a specialist defence barrister in the NSW supreme, district and local courts and his website states that he “appears most regularly in cases alleging murder, serious sexual assaults and commercial drug charges”.
The high profile cases he has run include representing the five men charged after a fatal bikie brawl in Sydney.
News.com.au broke the story on February 15, 2021 that Ms Higgins (left) alleged she had attended Parliament House with a man in 2019.
She was later discovered by security guards in defence industry minister Linda Reynolds’ ministerial office at 4am. Ms Higgins has given Newscorp Australia legal consent to identify her as the alleged victim in the matter.
Police will allege the incident occurred in the early hours of March 23, 2019, after Friday night drinks. It was just weeks before Prime Minister Scott Morrison called the election on April 10, 2019.
In her interview with news.com.au, Ms Higgins made explosive allegations concerning the government’s handling of the incident.
This included being brought to a formal employment meeting about the incident in the room Ms Higgins alleged the incident occurred – a decision the Morrison government has now accepted was an error by then defence industry minister Linda Reynolds.
Senator Reynolds was later forced to apologise for referring to Ms Higgins as a “lying cow” in front of staff in her office.
She subsequently agreed to a financial settlement that Ms Higgins donated to a Canberra-based sexual assault counselling service.
In June, the Australian Federal Police received advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions on whether or not there was a reasonable prospect of conviction.