Man charged with raping Brittany Higgins appears before court

The man charged with sexually assaulting Brittany Higgins has appeared before court for the first time.

Queensland man Bruce Lehrmann has appeared before court charged with the alleged sexual assault of Brittany Higgins at Parliament House in 2019.

Mr Lehrmann dialled into the ACT Magistrates Court from Queensland on Thursday morning, and his matter was adjourned for three weeks.

The former Liberal staffer only spoke to confirm he could hear the magistrate.

He was not present for the first mention last month when his solicitor Warwick Korn entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

Bruce Lehrmann has pleaded not guilty.

Ms Higgins came forward in February this year alleging she had been assaulted in the office of then Defence Minister Linda Reynolds on March 23, 2019. Mr Lehrmann denies the claim.

He faces a charge of sexual intercourse without consent, being reckless as to whether Ms Higgins had consented.

Mr Lehrmann dialled into the ACT Magistrates Court from Queensland. Picture: NewsWire/Gary Ramage

Mr Lehrmann’s barrister John Korn told the court on Thursday he needed more time as he had only received the brief of evidence two days earlier.

“It will take me about two weeks, I imagine, to get through the material,” he said.

Mr Korn explained the original brief he received from police several weeks ago had contained material that should not have been sent to him, and he had given an undertaking not to read it.

It was only on Tuesday evening that a hard copy of the brief arrived by courier, he said.

Brittany Higgins came forward in February this year. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Mr Korn said Mr Lehrmann would “probably” be ready to be committed for trial in three weeks, but Covid-19 border restrictions could be a problem.

Mr Lehrmann is in Queensland and his lawyers in NSW.

‘We spoke yesterday, and we’re in the process of working out whether we can go up there because if he comes to NSW he has to quarantine for a fortnight,” Mr Korn said.

“We’ll explore that, and if that doesn’t work out, we’ll do the best we can with an AVL connection.”

Ms Higgins’ allegations — about the assault itself and how it was handled by the Morrison government — triggered a national conversation about how sexual assault complaints were handled in the workplace.

Ms Higgins’ allegations triggered a national conversation. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Tens of thousands took to the streets to rally as part of the national March 4 Justice calling for better workplace protections.

In a statement earlier this year, Mr Lehrmann’s lawyer said he “absolutely and unequivocally denies that any form of sexual activity took place at all”.

The charge he is facing carries a maximum sentence of 12 years imprisonment if convicted.

Ms Higgins has granted permission to NCA NewsWire to be identified as the alleged victim in Mr Lehrmann’s court matter.

The matter returns to court on November 5.

Originally published as Man charged with raping Brittany Higgins appears before court