The alleged rape of former Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins will echo through Australia’s courts for the foreseeable future. The accused, Bruce Lehrmann — who maintains his innocence — is currently suing News Corp, Network Ten and the ABC for defamation over their reporting. Today an inquiry into how the police, prosecutors and a victim-support service handled last year’s abandoned trial will hold its first public hearing.
As such, the dangers of loose behaviour from any of the principals on social media will remain in place for some time to come. Indeed, Higgins posted and swiftly deleted a detailed and scathing response to the Canberra Liberals’ media release regarding the inquiry back in December.
This hasn’t stopped Lehrmann who, having deleted his social media presence early on in the saga, appears to have returned to Instagram under the name Bruce Emery (his middle name). The account, understandably, is locked — but there is something highly suggestive about the quote that populates his bio: “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes”.
Lehrmann’s trial was discharged without a verdict in October last year after a juror admitted “doing their own research” and accessing information that was not presented as evidence in court. Eventually, citing concerns for Higgins’ mental health, Director of Public Prosecutions for the ACT Shane Drumgold dropped the charges against Lehrmann.
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