Federal Court Upholds Lehrmann Rape Ruling, Dismisses Appeal

The Full Court of the Federal Court dismissed Bruce Lehrmann's appeal on Wednesday, upholding a landmark ruling that he raped his colleague Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in 2019 and rejecting his multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson.

The decision stems from an interview Higgins gave to Wilkinson on Ten's program The Project in 2021, in which she alleged Lehrmann sexually assaulted her in the early hours of March 23, 2019, inside the office of their then-boss, Liberal defence industry minister Linda Reynolds. Lehrmann, a former federal Liberal staffer, denied the allegations and sued Ten and Wilkinson, claiming the broadcast defamed him by implying he was a rapist.

In April 2024, Federal Court Justice Michael Lee ruled in favor of the defendants, finding on the balance of probabilities that Lehrmann had sexually assaulted Higgins. Lee determined that Lehrmann was intent on having sex with her, encouraged her to drink heavily, and proceeded without regard for her consent. The judge rejected Lehrmann's account that no sexual contact occurred, describing it as involving deliberate lies. On that basis, Lee upheld the media...