News: UPDATE 1-Australian judge finds staffer raped colleague in parliament office

(Updates with verdict, paragraphs 1-6, 12)

A former government adviser raped a colleague in a Parliament House office, an Australian judge found on Monday, dismissing a defamation suit in a case that has gripped the nation.

Bruce Lehrmann, a staff member in a previous government, brought a defamation suit against Australian media company Network Ten after it aired an interview with his accuser, Brittany Higgins, in 2021 that did not identify him by name.

Justice Michael Lee of Australia's Federal Court said on Monday he had found Lehrmann raped Higgins on the lower "balance of probabilities" standard used in civil trials, rather than that of "beyond all reasonable doubt" used in criminal trials.

"My conclusion on rape. Mr Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins," he told the court in comments that were livestreamed to tens of thousands of viewers.

"I hasten to stress this is a finding on the balance of probabilities."

Lehrmann made no comment to reporters as he left the court. He has previously denied all wrongdoing.

Lehrmann was first accused of raping Higgins in a ministerial office in the capital, Canberra, in 2019. A criminal trial collapsed in 2022 after a juror was found conducting individual research into the case, and a proposed retrial was abandoned after prosecutors said it would severely harm Higgins' mental health.

Higgins' accusation rocked the government of then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who struggled to assuage public anger ahead of a federal election, amid reports of sexual abuse, female discrimination and misconduct in parliament.

Morrison lost power in 2022. The case also embroiled two of Australia's largest media organisations after Higgins, who waived her right to anonymity during the initial criminal trial, gave the interview to Network Ten about her experience.

During the defamation trial, the court was told lurid details of how producers at rival TV network Seven spent thousands of dollars on drugs and sex workers in a bid to secure an exclusive interview with Lehrmann. ((mailto:[email protected]; +61 291 717 228; Reuters Messaging: rm://[email protected]/))