Flags raised about Lehrmann days before alleged rape

Days before Bruce Lehrmann allegedly raped Brittany Higgins in their boss’s ministerial office, senator Linda Reynolds had serious concerns about his character, a court has been told.

The revelation was made on Monday, during the senator’s first day on the witness stand during her blockbuster defamation trial in the WA Supreme Court.

Ms Higgins and her husband David Sharaz are being sued by Senator Reynolds after failed mediation hearings.

The couple shared posts in 2022 and 2023 which were critical of Ms Reynolds’ handling of Ms Higgins’ allegation she was raped in Parliament House in 2019 by her then-colleague Mr Lehrmann.

He was charged with rape and faced trial in 2022, but the trial was aborted due to juror misconduct.

The charge was dropped and Mr Lehrmann continues to maintain his innocence.

The senator told the court she had been briefed about another security matter involving Mr Lehrmann days prior to the alleged rape.

She said Mr Lehrmann had been in possession of a highly classified document he was not authorised to hold, and he had left it unattended in her office.

“It should never have been in my office or in his possession,” Senator Reynolds said.

She also told the court she and her chief of staff Fiona Brown had concerns about Mr Lehrmann’s behaviour and odd things he would say at work, boasting about people he knew, which were found to be false.

“We had a strong opinion that he had no place in defence or a ministerial wing,” the senator said.

Three days later Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins entered parliament house in the early hours of Saturday morning intoxicated.

Mr Lehrmann left shortly later while Ms Higgins was later found by security in the senator’s office partially naked.

Before giving her evidence, Ms Higgins’ lawyer Rachel Young presented her defence telling the court Senator Reynolds blamed the loss of her reputation on a junior staffer who was raped in her office by another employee.

“Miss Higgins’ truth — her truth — as to the rape is uncontested by the Senator,” Ms Young said.

“For the senator through her oral and written opening to suggest it may be (a fairytale) is misplaced, harassing and retraumatising.”

Ms Young told the court the senator must have known a sexual assault had occurred in her office before she met with Ms Higgins, but the senator denies these claims.

“In the week that followed it became clear Ms Higgins was in significant distress and days later her rapist was fired,” Ms Young said.

Ms Young said it was hard to believe the senator had no notion a sexual assault had occurred and the senator had enough intuition to describe Mr Lehmann as “shifty.”

“It is not credible to say that she had no inkling of a sexual assault because Ms Higgins did not use the word rape, that she had no idea,” Ms Young said.

Before the court was adjorned on Monday, the senator’s lawyer Martin Bennett said he would be amending the statement of claim to include an additional post Ms Higgins made as the senator started her giving her evidence.

Mr Bennett said Ms Higgins’ behaviour was ‘extraordinary aggravating conduct.’

Ms Young had told the court the post was a reference to a book titled How many more women?

More to come.