Test begins over alleged rape in Australia’s parliament Bruce Lehrmann is charged with raping fellow staffer Brittany Higgins in the then
defence sector minister Linda Reynolds’ workplace in Parliament Residence in March 2019.
A government worker states she “said no a minimum of six times” as a colleague apparently raped her inside Australia’s Parliament House.
Brittany Higgins accuses Bruce Lehrmann of raping her in the early hours of March 23, 2019, after they had both been out drinking and also clubbing with associates.
Lehrmann, 27, has pleaded blameless to sexual intercourse without permission and is also on trial in the Australian Capital Region High Court, dealing with a maximum of 12 years in jail if found guilty.
During the first day of the trial, prosecutor Shane Drumgold played Ms. Higgins’ meeting with authorities, where she informed the policemen: “I said no at least half a dozen times.”
” He did not stop. He kept going.
Trial begins over alleged rape in Australia’s parliament
Mr. Drumgold testified in court that Ms Higgins, then 24, and Lehrmann had actually left their friends after a night out and taken a taxi together.
He claimed Ms Higgins believed she was on her way home, but Lehrmann claimed he needed to stop at Parliament House to pick up some work.
Text messages sent by the accuser to a friend
Ms. Higgins says that after they both entered the office of protection industry preacher Linda Reynolds, she slept on a couch, awakening to discover Lehrmann having sex with her.
Mr. Drumgold said that Lehrmann had later on left the building, as well as that she had actually fallen asleep once more,
In text messages to a good friend after the claimed rape, Ms. Higgins had claimed she was “barely lucid” at the time, something Mr. Drumgold stated was relevant to her ability to grant sex.
Man goes on trial accused of rape in Australian ParliamentÂ
He included guards who had seen Ms. Higgins enter the building with Lehrmann had additionally observed that they were both influenced by alcohol, he included.
Estimated protection attorney feesMark Twain
Lehrmann’s protection attorney, Steven Whybrow, estimated US writer Mark Twain as stating “never let the reality hinder an excellent tale”, saying the words proved out in this instance.
He claimed the variety of occasions Ms Higgins offered to police had “huge openings” and that, while physical violence against women is an “under-reported and under-prosecuted scourge on our culture”, her tale was not true.
Principal justice Lucy McCallum, who is supervising the trial, has actually advised jurors to remain impartial while listening to and also pondering over the case, which has actually had a great deal of media coverage since it emerged.
The test is expected to run for as much as six weeks and to hear proof from three former government ministers.
Sky Information does not normally recognize affirmed targets of sexual assault, but Ms. Higgins has recognized herself countless times in the media.
