Bruce Lehrmann raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House, Australian judge finds, junking ex-adviser’s defamation case

Bruce Lehrmann brought a defamation suit against Australian media company Network Ten after it aired an interview with his accuser in 2021

A federal judge said on Monday he had found Lehrmann did rape Brittany Higgins on the lower ‘balance of probabilities’ standard used in civil trials

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Bruce Lehrmann arrives at the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney on Monday. Photo: AAP Image via Reuters

Published: 3:36pm, 15 Apr 2024Updated: 4:11pm, 15 Apr 2024

A former government adviser raped a colleague in a Parliament House office, an Australian judge found on Monday, dismissing a defamation suit in a case that has gripped the nation.

Bruce Lehrmann, a staff member in a previous government, brought a defamation suit against Australian media company Network Ten after it aired an interview with his accuser, Brittany Higgins, in 2021 that did not identify him by name.

Justice Michael Lee of Australia’s Federal Court said on Monday he had found Lehrmann raped Higgins on the lower “balance of probabilities” standard used in civil trials, rather than that of “beyond all reasonable doubt” used in criminal trials.

“My conclusion on rape. Mr Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins,” he told the court in comments that were live-streamed to tens of thousands of viewers.

“I hasten to stress this is a finding on the balance of probabilities.”

Lehrmann made no comment to reporters as he left the court. He has previously denied all wrongdoing.

Parliament House in Canberra. Lehrmann was first accused of raping a woman in a ministerial office in the Australian capital in 2019. Photo: Shutterstock