Trial in Australia’s parliament on alleged rape begins | World News

A government worker said she “said no at least six times” after a colleague allegedly raped her inside the Australian Parliament.

Brittany Higgins has accused Bruce Lehrman of raping her in the early hours of March 23, 2019, when they were both out drinking and clubbing with colleagues.

Lehrmann, 27, has pleaded not guilty to non-consensual sexual intercourse and is currently on trial in the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, where he faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted.

On the first day of the trial, prosecutor Shane Drumgold played Ms Higgins’ interview with police, where she told officers: “I said no at least six times.

“He didn’t stop. He kept going.”

Mr Drumgold told the jury that Ms Higgins, then 24, and Lehrmann left their colleagues after a night out to travel together in a taxi.

He said Ms Higgins thought she was on her way home, but Lehrman said he needed to stop at the Capitol to collect some work.

Plaintiff’s text message to friend

Ms Higgins said she had fallen asleep on the couch after the two entered the office of Defense Industry Secretary Linda Reynolds and woke up to find Lehrman having sex with her.

Mr Drumgold said Lehrman later left the building and she fell asleep again.

In texts sent to friends after the alleged rape, Ms Higgins said she was “barely awake” at the time, which Mr Drumgold said had to do with her ability to consent to sex.

He added that guards who saw Ms Higgins enter the building with Lehrman also observed that they were both under the influence of alcohol.

Defense attorneys quote Mark Twain

Lehrman’s defense attorney Steven Waibro quoted American author Mark Twain as saying “never let the truth get in the way of a good story,” and what he said was true under the circumstances.

He said the version of events Ms Higgins gave police had “huge loopholes” and that while violence against women was “an underreported and prosecuted scourge in our society”, her story was not true.

Chief Justice Lucy McCallum, who oversaw the trial, warned jurors to be impartial as they tried and considered the case, which has received much media coverage since it came to light.

The trial is expected to last six weeks and hear testimony from three former government ministers.

Sky News does not normally identify victims of sexual assault, but Ms Higgins has identified herself in the media several times.