The Federal Court has found, on the balance of probabilities, Bruce Lehrmann raped Brittany Higgins at Parliament House in 2019.
Justice Michael Lee has found the pair did have sex in the office of Senator Linda Reynolds, that Ms Higgins did not consent, and that Mr Lehrmann was indifferent to whether she had consented.
Justice Lee has been delivering his judgment in Mr Lehrmann’s defamation case against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson.
“Mr Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins,” Justice Lee said.
“I hasten to stress this is a finding on the balance of probabilities.”
Justice Lee said he was satisfied that it was “more likely than not” that Mr Lehrmann was “so intent upon gratification to be indifferent to Ms Higgins’s consent and hence went ahead with sexual intercourse without caring whether she consented”.
“I consider it more likely than not, in those early hours after a long night of conviviality and drinking and having successfully brought Ms Higgins back to a secluded place, Mr Lehrmann was hell-bent on having sex with a woman he found sexually attractive and had been passionately kissing and touching and had encouraged to drink and knew had reducing inhibitions,” he said.
Justice Lee said Mr Lehrmann’s defamation case had officially failed.
“Having escaped the lion’s den, Mr Lehrmann made the mistake of coming back for his hat.”
Mr Lehrmann faced a criminal trial in the ACT Supreme Court in 2022, which collapsed without a verdict due to juror misconduct.
He has always maintained his innocence.
The former federal Liberal staffer brought the case against Network Ten and Ms Wilkinson after they aired an interview with Brittany Higgins on The Project in 2021 in which she alleged she was raped at Parliament House in March 2019.
The interview did not name Mr Lehrmann, but he claimed their description still identified him, which sparked his defamation proceedings.
The case, which spanned 22 days last year and was unexpectedly re-opened two weeks ago, was decided by Justice Michael Lee in the Federal Court on Monday.
Justice Lee found he had “no doubt” Mr Lehrmann was identifiable in the interview.
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