The charges against Bruce Lehrmann, the man who was accused of raping Brittany Higgins, have been dropped, the Director of Public Prosecutions for the ACT has confirmed.
Shane Drumgold, the Director of Public Prosecutions, confirmed on Friday morning the retrial would not proceed. He said it was no longer in the public interest to continue because of the “unacceptable risk” it would pose to the complainant’s health.
“I have made the difficult decision that it is no longer in the public interest to pursue a prosecution at the risk of the complainant’s life,” he said.
Lehrmann had been accused of raping Higgins in an office at Parliament House in March 2019. He faced one charge of sexual intercourse without consent.
“I’ve recently received really compelling evidence from medical experts that the ongoing trauma associated with this prosecution presents a significant and unacceptable risk for the life of the complainant,” Drumgold said.
“The evidence makes it clear that this is not limited to the harm and rather applies whether or not the complainant is required to enter the witness box.
“Whilst the pursuit of justice is essential for my office and the community, the safety of a complainant in a sexual assault matter, must be paramount.”
The initial trial for the Lehrmann case was abandoned after a juror accessed external research on sexual assault, despite repeated warnings from the judge not to do so. That trial heard from 29 witnesses, taking place over a three week period.
A retrial had been set for February 2023, but it will not go ahead following today’s decision from the Drumgold.
Drumgold said he believed there was still a reasonable prospect of conviction based on the evidence, but the safety of Higgins was paramount.
Before the end of his statement to the media, Drumgold paid tribute to Higgins.
“Before concluding, during the investigation and trial as a sexual assault complainant, Ms Higgins has faced a level of personal attack that I have not seen in over 20 years of doing this work,” he said.
“She’s done so with bravery, grace and dignity and it is my hope that this will now stop.”