Australia’s AG denies rape claim

Perth – Australia’s attorney-general outed himself as the unnamed Cabinet minister accused of raping a 16-year-old girl, denying the decades-old allegation yesterday and seeking to draw a line under a crisis consuming the country’s conservative government.

After a speculation-filled week that has roiled Australian politics, 50-year-old Christian Porter – the government’s top lawyer and a former state prosecutor – tearfully denied wrongdoing, saying “what is being alleged did not happen”.

He stands accused of raping a fellow student in 1988 while they attended a debating competition at the University of Sydney.

Porter insisted he would not step down, but would take a few “short weeks” off to deal with the mental strain caused by the allegations, while reportedly hiring a top defamation lawyer.

“I’ve discussed with the prime minister today that after speaking with my own doctor I’m going to take a short period of leave to assess and hopefully improve my own mental health,” he said.

Porter was forced to come forward after senior lawmakers received a dossier setting out the claims of the alleged victim, who died last year before making a formal complaint to police.

Her death – reported to be suicide – is the subject of an ongoing coroner’s investigation.