Brittany Higgins rape case investigator suspended, faces charges
A top cop involved in the Higgins rape investigation has been suspended while he fights charges of perjury, perverting the course of justice, and concealing evidence in an unrelated case.
Detective Leading Senior Constable Trent Madders – who worked on the Brittany Higgins rape investigation – has been suspended from duty as he fights charges of perjury, perverting the course of justice and concealing evidence in an unrelated case.
The case was listed for a mention in the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday with his lawyer, Tim Sharman, asking that the matter be adjourned for three weeks.
No plea has been entered and the case will return to court on August 1. Detective Madders has previously rejected claims of wrongdoing.
In a statement, the AFP said the employee had been charged by AFP Professional Standards and suspended from duty.
“No further comment will be made,” the statement read.
It’s understood the charges relate to an investigation into identical twins, former AFP officer Joshua Tiffen and his electrician brother Kenan Tiffen, who had been accused of secretly filming female tenants at a Canberra home in 2019.
The admissibility of evidence found by police on two mobile phones and a laptop was central to the case against the brothers. The brothers have pleaded not guilty, and the matter is subject to an appeal.
Two judges and a magistrate have previously considered Detective Madder’s conduct in the ACT Supreme Court case.
Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson upheld an appeal regarding evidence on the computer after ACT Magistrate Glen Theakston considered Detective Leading Senior Constable Madders’s conduct in redacting an entry in his police book and his evidence regarding the examination of the computer.
Detective Leading Senior Constable Madders has previously rejected claims that he engaged in an attempted cover-up.
He also provided a statement to a board of inquiry that examined the ACT’s criminal justice system last year concerning his involvement in the Brittany Higgins rape investigation.
The board of inquiry report produced by Walter Sofronoff KC praised the conduct of police investigating Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation.
The report found that investigators, including Trent Madders, had “performed their duties in absolute good faith, with great determination although faced with obstacles, and put together a sound case”.
The ACT’s Integrity Commissioner has subsequently launched an investigation into Walter Sofronoff KC over his own conduct during the inquiry.
The allegations relate to Mr Sofronoff’s release of his final report to two journalists — Janet Albrechtsen from The Australian and Elizabeth Byrne from the ABC — before it was made public by the government, which the commission alleges may constitute corruption.
In March, an ACT Supreme Court judge found that communications between Mr Sofronoff and journalist Janet Albrechtsen “gave rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias”.