Brittany Higgins breaks down in police interview played to jury as Bruce Lehrmann sexual assault trial continues
Jurors have been shown a police interview in which Brittany Higgins said the man accused of raping her had “tried to kiss” her at a previous work event.
Brittany Higgins broke down in tears as CCTV footage from the night she was allegedly raped was played to her for the first time by police.
Fellow Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent in the office of former Defence Minister Linda Reynolds in the early hours of March 23, 2019.
Ms Higgins’ first two recorded interviews with police were aired to the jury in the ACT Supreme Court on Wednesday, showing the former poitical staffer’s reaction to footage from the night, and claiming Mr Lehrmann had tried to kiss her in the past.
The jury was shown a video of Ms Higgins being played the footage of her and Mr Lehrmann entering Parliament House and outside Senator Reynolds’ office.
Ms Higgins was asked by police if she wanted to see the CCTV footage, to which she replied that she did.
She was shown three separate clips, which will be played before the jury when Ms Higgins is in the witness box.
A few minutes into being shown the videos by the police, Ms Higgins became visibly upset and began wiping away tears.
She then pulled a tissue from the box next to her and wiped her nose.
At one point she was seen covering her mouth as she watched the videos.
After viewing the CCTV footage, Ms Higgins said “it makes sense” how she and Mr Lehrmann had entered Parliament House.
The jury heard her say it was clear Mr Lehrmann didn’t have his pass and had to contact security to let them in.
During the same interview, the jury heard Mr Lehrmann allegedly tried to kiss Ms Higgins within the first few weeks of her being in her new role working for Senator Reynolds.
During her second recorded police interview in May of 2021, Ms Higgins was asked by the police interviewers if she recalled anything that she had forgotten to mention in the first interview.
The jury heard Ms Higgins say that Mr Lehrmann “made a pass and tried to kiss me” after a work event.
She told the police she didn’t think it was worth while noting in the first interview as she had rebuffed him and they “moved on”.
“We never really talked about it again,” she said on the recorded interview.
Ms Higgins said the alleged attempted kiss occurred as they were both leaving a work dinner at the Kingston Hotel, with the court hearing the accused allegedly leant in to kiss her as he was about to get into a taxi.
“I remember I was shocked because he leant forward into my face,” she said.
Ms Higgins told the police that it didn’t feel like a “massive deal” at the time, which is why she didn’t think to mention it in her first interview.
‘I was late’: ‘Stressed’ Higgins bought pregnancy test, court hears
In the second police interview on May 26, 2021, Ms Higgins told police that she remembered buying a pregnancy test in the wake of the alleged assault when she was in Perth for work in the lead up to the Federal election.
She said the decision to buy the pregnancy test was part of her “retrospectively checking things” following the alleged assault, saying “I was late and I was stressed”.
The court heard that she did not take the morning after pill or go to a doctor for a physical examination following the alleged incident, but did eventually attend a doctor to be prescribed anxiety medication.
The court heard that police had identified an email that Mr Lehrmann had sent to Ms Higgins’ personal email address on the Sunday after the alleged assault.
In the recorded interview, the police officer said they could not see the content of the email and asked Ms Higgins if she knew what was in the email.
“I have no idea,” the jury heard her say, with Ms Higgins adding that she couldn’t recall the email.
Ms Higgins broke down crying at one point in the interview, telling detectives “I am so stupid” when speaking about her actions in the wake of the alleged assault.
She said that she had made it hard for herself in “hindsight” because she was “so scared” coming forward.
She was then comforted by the police interviewing her.
One of the detectives asked Ms Higgins if she remembered a conversation she had with another officer in the wake of the alleged incident.
The court heard that in the other officer’s notes, they had written that Ms Higgins had told her that Mr Lehrmann had gotten “quite handsy” while at 88mph club and that she “didn’t really mind”.
In the interview, Ms Higgins told the police that she remembered relaying the information she had at the time.
“I trust my recollection,” she said.
Ms Higgins said she felt that Mr Lehrmann was sitting “really close” to her at the club and she was “cognisant of that”.
‘Felt trapped’: Brittany relives alleged rape
She told the police that she didn’t remember how she came to be on the couch in Senator Reynolds’ office, but did remember waking up during the alleged assault.
The court heard Ms Higgins say she had the sense it had been “going on a while”, with her reasoning being that Mr Lehrmann “seemed sweaty”.
She said the accused was not looking at her during the alleged assault, with the jury hearing her say that he did not react when Ms Higgins told him to stop.
“I was crying at that point. As soon as I came to I was crying,” she said in the police video.
Ms Higgins said her dress had been pushed up around her waist and she wasn’t wearing underwear.
She said she thought Mr Lerhmann had a shirt on during the alleged assault but “definitely didn’t have pants on”.
The court heard Ms Higgins saying the alleged intercourse felt “quite forceful” and that she felt trapped and “not human”.
“I didn’t feel like it was about me at all,” she said.
“I felt like he was almost finished and I was coming late to the party.”
During the section of video where Ms Higgins was describing the alleged assault in detail, Mr Lehrmann did not look up at the screen.
Higgins ‘on autopilot’ at work after alleged assault
The court heard Ms Higgins telling the police that she was on “autopilot” when she went to work on the Monday after the alleged assault.
She said she didn’t believe anyone would believe her and she was trying to “overcompensate” on Monday and was “broadly nice” to Mr Lehrmann when she interacted with him.
“He didn’t seem ashamed. He didn’t seem upset or anything. It didn’t feel like something he wanted to address,” the court heard Ms Higgins say in the police interview.
On the Tuesday both Ms Higgins and Mr Lerhmann were called into separate meetings with Fiona Brown, the then chief of staff for Senator Reynolds, the court heard.
Ms Higgins said Ms Brown was the first person she told about the alleged assault.
She said going into the meeting she felt it was disciplinary in nature, but when she disclosed the alleged assault then the “gears shifted and it became less about me and more political than the actual incident itself”.
The court heard Ms Higgins say she “had a bit of a breakdown” during the meeting and was sent home for the rest of the day.
The court heard via the police interview video that in the wake of the alleged assault, Ms Higgins blocked Mr Lehrmann off all social media platforms and that he never reached out to her via text.
The former Liberal staffer told police Mr Lehrmann was “liking and unliking” her boss, Senator Cash’s Facebook posts in the wake of the alleged incident, the court heard.
“It was my understanding it was done on the belief that I would get the notifications,” she said in the video.
Ms Higgins said Senator Cash knew about this behaviour.
During the police interview, the jury heard Ms Higgins listing the people that she had spoken to about the alleged assault, including Senator Reynolds and Michaelia Cash.
Ms Higgins said she also told a number of her colleagues and friends.
Ahead of her claims being made public through the media, the court heard Ms Higgins spoke to journalists Samantha Maiden and Lisa Wilkinson, as well as informing her close circle of friends and having her loved ones tell her extended family.
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