Bruce Lehrmann faces committal hearing for rape charge in Toowoomba
A Toowoomba woman who accuses Bruce Lehrmann of raping her in 2021 is expected to give evidence at a committal hearing set to take place in a few hours.
Inside the Toowoomba court house on Monday, those assembled will hear for the first time from the woman who alleges Bruce Lehrmann raped her after they met at a local strip club.
Her name is suppressed. Mr Lehrmann has not formally entered a plea but his lawyers have indicated he will plead not guilty.
The committal hearing on Monday will determine whether or not the matter should proceed to trial.
If it does, the Toowoomba woman will give evidence twice – first in the committal hearing where she is expected to be cross examined on Monday – and then in the trial, if the judge orders one.
What is known of the police case is that she told them she met former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann at the adult entertainment venue in October, 2021.
She reported the allegation a few weeks later after recognising him in media reports regarding Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation.
Mr Lehrmann has always denied he had any sexual contact with Ms Higgins and maintains his innocence. He was never convicted.
But it would be nearly a year later, after that trial collapsed following an allegation of juror misconduct, that police would come knocking over Toowoomba.
A strip club, the morning after pill and a rape allegation
The two counts of rape that police will allege occurred followed Mr Lehrmann meeting the woman in his hometown in the spring of the same year he was publicly accused and then charged in August, 2021 with raping Brittany Higgins.
Two months later, as he was awaiting trial in Canberra, Mr Lehrmann visited an adult entertainment venue called The Vault.
The woman told police he was wearing a baseball cap and shorts. She says he initially told her his name was Bryce.
At the time, he was awaiting trial in relation to Brittany Higgins rape allegation. But she told police she didn’t know that yet and she didn’t know who he was until a few weeks later when she recognised him in a newspaper report.
Mr Lehrmann and the Toowoomba woman returned later that night to a friend’s house before getting into bed.
What happened next is where their stories are expected to diverge.
The woman has told police she kissed Mr Lehrmann, before falling asleep. Police claim she says she told him if they had sex he needed to use a condom.
Police will then allege she woke to find him having sex with her. Mr Lehrmann has not entered a formal plea but is expected to plead not guilty and deny the woman’s claims.
It’s then claimed the woman was driven to a chemist the next morning by Mr Lehrmann to obtain the morning after pill.
Mr Lehrmann is also expected to front court in the Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Monday for the first time during a committal hearing over rape charges.
In previous hearings, which commenced in January, 2023, he has not been required to appear in person.
‘Hope he was paid a lot of money’: Judge unloads on Spotlight interview
Mr Lehrmann was unmasked as the man facing the Toowoomba rape charge in October, 2023, after the media fought a long battle to report on his identity.
He was named after his lawyers lost their judicial review of a Toowoomba magistrate’s ruling that he should not be granted a non-publication order to maintain his anonymity.
Until recently, Queensland law prevented him from being named with respect to the Toowoomba allegations.
However, the state introduced new laws in September, 2023 to allow the naming of accused sex offenders after they are charged.
Queensland Supreme Court Judge Peter Applegarth later observed that a cynic might say, “I hope Channel 7 paid Mr Lehrmann a lot of money” for his bombshell Spotlight interview given the impact it had on his legal bid to keeping his name suppressed in new rape charges.
The court heard how Mr Lehrmann’s engagement with media outlets were deemed “inconsistent with the contention that the media pursuit has been relentless”.
“Let’s light some fires,” he told Spotlight. “I’m not going to shy away from having my say.”
Earlier, Robert Anderson KC, representing the media outlets, said the high profile man had not given evidence before the court, instead relying on his solicitors and his psychologist.
He noted the man was prepared to go public with certain statements but was “unprepared” to face the court and give evidence himself.
“His lawyers have told him to stay quiet, he has refused that advice. He wants to be heard – everywhere except here,’’ he said.
Bruce Lehrmann’s big secret
But Spotlight was left in the dark until January 11, 2023 about what was coming down the pipe as Mr Lehrmann partied and allegedly visited a brothel.
Mr Lehrmann knew, even as he sent out defamation warning letters around Christmas to Channel 10 and news.com.au, the publisher of this website, what was coming. He was about to have his first court appearance over an alleged rape in Toowoomba.
Just a month earlier, the ACT DPP had dropped the rape charge against him citing the risk to Brittany Higgins’ mental health of a second trial.
But just weeks after the trial collapsed, the Queensland police came knocking.
Throughout November and December 2022, police made contact with Mr Lehrmann’s legal team in an attempt to get him to attend the Toowoomba Police station to discuss the matter.
On December 9, 2022, a Notice to Appear in Court was served on the defendant’s legal team for Mr Lehrmann to attend the Toowoomba Magistrates Court.
Spotlight was in the dark. They were busy booking a golf trip to Tasmania with Mr Lehrmann.
If Mr Lehrmann was worried about the development he didn’t mention it when he caught up with the Spotlight EP and producer Taylor Auerbach later in December.
Mark Llewellyn captured happy selfies on the plane with Auerbach on his Instagram account.
“Travel broadens the mind,” he tagged the photos.
Holy Sh*t!
When he found out, the tendered texts show a shocked Spotlight supervising producer Steve Jackson was desperately trying to ring his colleague Auerbach, the producer appointed to be Mr Lehrmann’s babysitter and minder.
“Can you call urgently??? Mr Lehrmann has been charged with rape in Qld,” texted Jackson as his flurry of 10 calls went unanswered.
“Holy shit,” Auerbach finally replied.