Bruce Lehrmann to stand trial over allegations he raped a woman in Toowoomba as ‘no case’ bid fails

Former Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lehrmann has been committed to stand trial on two rape charges following two days of hearings into the reliability of the alleged victim’s evidence.

The second day of a committal hearing for Lehrmann’s charges, that he allegedly raped a woman twice on the early hours of October 10, 2021, was held at Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Defence barrister Andrew Hoare had argued Lehrmann should not face trial on the charges because the alleged victim was too intoxicated to remember giving consent.

“The test that needs to be satisfied is a low one in this case. It is said the threshold is not met in both of these (charges),” Hoare said.

Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald said there was a prima facie case to answer and any questions over the reliability of the alleged victim’s evidence should be considered by a jury.

After adjourning for a few minutes, Magistrate Mark Howden returned with a decision that a reasonable jury, properly instructed, could potentially find the allegations proven beyond reasonable doubt.

Howden told Lehrmann, who attended remotely via phone, that he would stand trial on two counts of rape before the Queensland District Court at a date to be set by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

“Not as this time, thank you, your honour,” Lehrmann said when asked if he wanted to say anything or enter a plea.

Lehrmann’s bail was continued.

Defence lawyers had mounted a weeks-long legal effort to maintain Lehrmann’s anonymity after Queensland changed its laws in October 2023 to no longer ban the publication of the names of people charged with certain sex offences before facing trial.

Lehrmann was able to be identified after being denied an ongoing non-publication of his name by the Queensland Supreme Court.

He was the subject of national media attention after being charged with the rape of Brittany Higgins in the office of then defence industry minister Linda Reynolds at Parliament House in March 2019, while both were employed by the senator.

Lehrmann denied the allegations and the case ended in a mistrial, with prosecutors withdrawing the charge and declining to proceed with a new trial out of concern for Higgins’ mental health.

Lehrmann in November 2023 started defamation proceedings against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over claims The Project program had identified him as the person who raped Higgins in Parliament House in 2019.

Justice Michael Lee in April 2024 found to the civil standard that Lehrmann did, on the balance of probabilities, rape Higgins and dismissed his lawsuit.

Lehrmann filed an appeal in May and was later ordered to pay $2 million in costs over his failed defamation case.