Lehrmann 'did not care' if Higgins consented: court
Bruce Lehrmann was “hellbent” on having sex with Brittany Higgins and “ did not care one way or another” whether she had consented, a judge has found in a scathing judgment after he dismissed the former political staffer’s lawsuit against Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson.
Lehrmann could be on the hook for millions of dollars in legal fees after he on Monday sensationally lost his blockbuster defamation lawsuit after Federal Court Justice Michael Lee found he told a series of “deliberate lies” in the witness box.
Justice Lee found, on the balance of probabilities, that Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins inside Parliament House on the morning of March 23, 2019, after a night out at Canberra nightspots The Dock and 88mph.
Lehrmann pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent when he faced trial in the ACT Supreme Court before the trial was abandoned due to juror misconduct. The charge against him was subsequently dropped out of concern for Ms Higgins’ mental health if a retrial were to be ordered.
“Having escaped the lion’s den, Mr Lehrmann made the mistake of going back for his hat,” Justice Lee said in his judgment on Monday.
According to Mr Lehrmann’s account, given to the court during his evidence last year, he claimed that when he arrived back at Parliament House with Ms Higgins, he went to the right and Ms Higgins went to the left, towards Senator Reynolds’ private office where she was found naked the following morning.
Justice Lee, in his judgment handed down on Monday afternoon, said that after a “long night of drinking” and “having successfully brought Ms Higgins back to a secluded place, Mr Lehrmann was hellbent on having sex with a woman found sexually attractive.”
“In his pursuit of gratification, he did not care one way or another whether Ms Higgins understood or agreed to what was going on,” Justice Lee said.
Bruce Lehrmann has sensationally lost his defamation battle with Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson. Picture: NCA NewsWire / John Appleyard.
A judge has found that Brittany Higgins was raped by Bruce Lehrmann. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper.
“LIKE A LOG”
Ms Higgins during her evidence told the court that she woke up with Lehrmann on top of her and she repeatedly told him “no”.
“I told him no, on a loop,” Ms Higgins said in her evidence.
However Justice Lee found that it was more likely “that she was passive” and “like a log”.
Justice Lee said that after watching CCTV of their interactions, Lehrmann was encouraging Ms Higgins to drink “well beyond the grounds of sobriety” towards the end of their time at the Dock.
Justice Lee found that Ms Higgins was “seriously inebriated” by the time she got back to Parliament House.
He pointed to her falling over at a bar and that she was seen swaying as she waited to enter Senator Reynolds’ office.
“CCTV suggests that Mr Lehrmann must have been aware of at least one incident that demonstrated a lack of balance, and things then progressed. He knew she was drinking excessively.”
“It must have been obvious to anyone that alcohol consumption had decreased Ms Higgins’s motor co-ordination. She was seriously inebriated.”
Justice Lee told the court that he was satisfied that Ms Higgins was drunk and drowsy at the time she was in Parliament House with Lehrmann.
“I’m comfortable so far that Ms Higgins was a very drunk 24-year-old and was significantly impacted. It is highly likely she was prone to drowsiness,” he said.
“In the light of my findings as to Mr Lehrmann’s conduct, I’m satisfied he was aware of her condition.”
THE KEY FINDING
The court heard on Monday that Mr Lehrmann repeatedly lied about his reason for coming back to Parliament House.
When he arrived at the gate he told security over an intercom: “Oh, hi mate. Bruce Lehrmann here with Minister Linda Reynolds. We’ve been requested to pick up some documents. I’ve forgotten my pass.”
Several days after the incident he told his boss, Senator Reynolds’ chief of staff Fiona Brown, that he returned to Parliament to drink whiskey.
However he admitted during his evidence that those two explanations were a lie and claimed he came back to Parliament to collect his keys before sitting at his desk making notes on ministerial briefs for 40 minutes.
Justice Lee described Lehrmann’s explanation as “fanciful”.
He noted that had Lehrmann needed his keys, “he could have texted his girlfriend to have her meet him at the door or called her”.
Lauren Gain. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone.
Justice Lee accepted the evidence of political staffer Lauren Gain, who said she saw Ms Higgins and Lehrmann “passionately kissing” at 88MPH bar before going back to parliament.
This is despite Lehrmann claiming that Ms Gain had falsified her evidence.
“Put in stark terms, it is fanciful a somewhat lubricated male staffer, accompanied by a woman he found attractive, who he had just been ‘pashing’ in a nightclub, despite having a girlfriend, would then be interested, after coming to a private place very late, to just say ‘cheerio’ and then soberly proceed to note up briefs for a Question Time that was not to occur for one and a half weeks,” Justice Lee said.
Brittany Higgins entering into Parliament House with Bruce Lehrmann. Picture: Supplied.
THE FRENCH SUBMARINE DEFENCE
He also noted Lehrmann had already resigned from Senator Reynolds’ office and was due to finish up work the following week and “hitherto had demonstrated no outward signs of being a workaholic.”
Justice Lee said that Lehrmann’s French submarine explanation “lacked coherence”
“Mr Lehrmann was unable to identify any information he obtained at The Dock (or 88mph) relevant to the work he was supposedly doing for the minister on the Question Time folders,” Justice Lee said.
“He said that the only information that he could recall was about ‘the French submarine contract’ but he was unable to specify who had provided him with information about the contract.”
A judge has found that Brittany Higgins’ date left the dock because she left him alone. Picture: Supplied.
“NICK”
Justice Lee also made adverse findings about Ms Higgins’ credit.
During Ms Higgins’ evidence she said that at the Dock, her Bumble date, named as “Nick”, was “bullied mercilessly by everyone” and forced to leave.
However Justice Lee noted that Ms Higgins “abandoned” her date to go sit at another table with Mr Lehrmann.
“After being forsaken like a shag on a rock for an extended period and despite then making successful attempts to interact with some of the group on the larger table, Nick understandably left The Dock, no doubt ruing swiping right,” Justice Lee said.
