Bruce Lehrmann Faces Second Rape Allegation
Former Liberal Party political staffer Bruce Lehrmann, found by a civil court judge to have raped Brittany Higgins, faced a committal hearing today in the Toowoomba Magistrates Court on two rape charges involving a different woman in October 2021.
A criminal trial in 2022 for the rape was later canceled, and the charge against him was dropped. Mr. Lehrmann appealed the finding in a defamation trial, but was unsuccessful.
Details about the current charges are scarce, and the complainant provided evidence for about an hour in a closed court today via video link from a remote location.
Magistrate Mark Howden also granted a request for Mr. Lehrmann to be hidden from the woman’s view while she testified.
Media organizations requested to be present during the complainant’s evidence, but the complainant opposed having any media there while she testified.
Mr. Lehrmann’s barrister also opposed, and the magistrate denied the application.
According to police evidence, the complainant first met Mr. Lehrmann at an adult entertainment venue in October 2021. She made the rape allegation a few weeks later after seeing him in media reports regarding Brittany Higgins’ rape accusation.
Media Scrum
Mr. Lehrmann attempted to avoid a media scrum by arriving early, but was unsuccessful. In court, he was accompanied by his solicitor, Rowan King, and represented by two barristers, Mr. Hoare and Patrick Wilson.
Mr. Hoare presented a 12-page outline of submissions, hinting at an upcoming oral submission arguing that there is no case to answer, scheduled for July 4.
In addition to the complainant’s examination, Ms. Friedewald provided over a dozen witness statements, including some from the complainant and police officers involved in the investigation.
She also mentioned that the Crown had an additional statement from the complainant, dated today, which was submitted to the court.
Despite this, Mr. Hoare indicated that he would address the sufficiency of the evidence to proceed to trial when the case returns to court.
The magistrate extended Mr. Lehrmann’s bail and allowed him to appear via audiovisual link in July.
After the proceedings were adjourned, Mr. Lehrmann did not speak to the media as he left the court.
