Latest news with #BruceLehrmann
News.com.au
3 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
Bruce Lehrmann picks up new job as live-in nanny while awaiting defamation appeal, Qld rape trial
Former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann has taken up a new job as a live-in nanny while awaiting for an appeal of his defamation case and unrelated rape trial in Queensland. Mr Lehrmann, 29, is understood to be looking after the family's children in an unpaid capacity. The Daily Telegraph – who exclusively obtained details of the role, in addition to obtaining a photo of Mr Lehrmann at the movies – reports the former Liberal staffer has been taken in by a close family friend and is living with the family, who are outside NSW. In a statement Mr Lehrmann's lawyer, Zali Burrows, said: 'Bruce really relishes the role he has in the children's lives and the family really adore him.' 'It's been a safe, happy sanctuary, away from the mental and financial turmoil he is going through,' Ms Burrows' statement continued. It is understood Mr Lehrmann is continuing to study law, taking a particular specialisation in criminal law, while working in his new role. In 2021, he was identified as the political staffer accused of raping fellow colleague Brittany Higgins inside Parliament House, following a night out in Canberra in 2019. Mr Lehrmann has consistently maintained his innocence. In 2022, he stood trial in the ACT Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to sexually assaulting Ms Higgins, but the trial was aborted due to juror misconduct. Prosecutors subsequently dropped the charges and did not pursue a retrial due to concerns about Ms Higgins' mental health. In a subsequent high-stakes civil lawsuit, Mr Lehrmann claimed he had been defamed by an interview aired on The Project, where Ms Higgins first alleged she was raped. Last year, Justice Michael Lee last year dismissed the lawsuit against Network Ten and Ms Wilkinson after he found – on the civil standard of the balance of probabilities – that Mr Lehrmann had raped Ms Higgins inside Parliament House. He found 'Mr Lehrmann was hellbent on having sex' and 'he did not care one way or another whether Ms Higgins understood or agreed to what was going on'. An appeal against Justice Lee's decision remains before the court. Mr Lehrmann is also due to stand trial in Toowoomba District Court on two counts of rape, which stem from an alleged incident in the Garden City in 2021. A date for trial has not been set and Mr Lehrmann has not yet entered a plea, but has previously indicated he will fight the charges. Ms Burrows is representing Mr Lehrman in both his civil claim and his criminal trial – after he dropped his original legal team back in March. During a call-over mention on May 22, Ms Burrows told the court there appeared to be a 'shroud of secrecy' over the investigation into her client. 'The Crown cannot confirm, at this stage, if there are any police notebook or diary entries in respect of this investigation, which is pretty concerning,' Ms Burrows said.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Bruce Lehrmann's shock new job as selfie emerges of disgraced political staffer's low-key lifestyle while he lives off Centrelink benefits
Former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann has moved interstate to become a full-time live-in nanny. Lehrmann, 29, has reportedly found his 'happy sanctuary' living with a close family friend and watching their two children, outside of NSW. The children, aged under 10, call Lehrmann 'the Manny' and 'Uncle Bruce'. It's understood Lehrmann took the unpaid role in exchange for a space in the family's home following two criminal court cases and a defamation defeat which left his reputation, and finances, in tatters. Lehrmann, who relies on Centrelink benefits, was hired by the family 18 months ago. A photo showed Lehrmann smiling directly at the camera while sitting next to one of the children at a cinema. Lehrmann was dressed in a light, blue collared shirt with a cap and sunglasses resting on his head, while the child held a Village Cinemas popcorn bucket. His lawyer Zali Burrows told the Daily Telegraph the job has been a haven for his client. 'Bruce relishes the trusted role he has in the children's lives and the family really adores him,' she said. 'It's been a safe, happy sanctuary, away from the mental and financial turmoil.' In August 2021, Lehrmann was identified as the Liberal Party staffer accused of raping Brittany Higgins inside Parliament House in 2019. Ms Higgins had shared her alleged sexual assault with Channel 10 journalist Lisa Wilkinson in an interview aired on The Project. Lehrmann has always denied the allegations. Lehrmann faced the ACT Supreme Court in late 2022 but the case was dropped after a juror brought outside research into the deliberation room. A second trial was also aborted, citing concerns for Ms Higgins' mental health. In 2023, Lehrmann launched legal proceedings against Wilkinson and Channel 10, claiming he'd been defamed by The Project episode. The ruling of the lawsuit left Lehrmann in ruin with Justice Michael Lee finding, on the balance of probabilities, he raped Ms Higgins. He has appealed the ruling with the case to go before the Federal Court of Australia in August. Lehrmann is also fighting allegations he raped a woman in Queensland in 2021. The woman alleged Lehrmann assaulted her twice on the morning of October 10, 2021, after they met in a strip club the previous night in Toowoomba, 150km west of Brisbane. She claimed she and Lehrmann ingested cocaine during the night out and had consensual sex at a house in east Toowoomba about 4am. The woman alleged she was woken about 10am by Lehrmann sexually assaulting her. Lehrmann's former defence barrister Andrew Hoare said at a prior committal hearing the alleged victim was too intoxicated to remember giving consent and Lehrmann could have mistakenly believed he had consent for further sex acts. The case is set to return to court on June 20.
The Guardian
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Shroud of secrecy' over investigation into Bruce Lehrmann rape accusations, lawyer tells court
Bruce Lehrmann's lawyer had told a court there appears to be a 'shroud of secrecy' over an investigation into allegations the former Liberal party staffer raped a woman after a night out. Lehrmann will face trial accused of raping a woman twice during the morning of 10 October 2021, after they met at a strip club the previous night in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane. The case was mentioned in Toowoomba district court on Thursday. His lawyer Zali Burrows complained to Judge Dennis Lynch that the prosecution was not disclosing information she sought from its brief of evidence. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'In respect to the status of the brief, there does appear to be a shroud of secrecy over the investigation of this matter,' she said. Burrows claimed the prosecution had not confirmed if there were any police notebooks or diary entries relating to the investigation, which she said was 'pretty concerning'. The defence also received 200 heavily redacted pages of the alleged victim's phone records out of 2200 identified in a report. 'It stands materially that it has cherrypicked the text exchanges, which is quite concerning,' Ms Burrows told Lynch. 'It's not a case of the crown determining what is materially relevant to the defence case. 'We are having issues with full-service redactions and what we view as non-disclosure of police notebooks and diaries.' The defence has filed an application for full access to the alleged victim's unredacted phone records and disclosure of all police notebooks, diaries, emails and text messages in respect to the investigation. Burrows expects that once this material is handed over, it will provide extra evidence for the defence's case. At an earlier hearing, Burrows applied for a complete consolidated brief of evidence after claiming the defence was missing nine witness statements and also important CCTV recordings. She confirmed on Thursday that this material was provided but there had been an issue with the video files. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The matter was adjourned for a hearing on 20 June. Lehrmann has not yet entered a pleas but his legal team in Toowoomba had indicated he would defend the charges. Lehrmann, 29, was formerly employed as a ministerial staffer in the Parliament House office of Liberal senator Linda Reynolds. The alleged victim previously told Toowoomba magistrates court she consumed cocaine with Lehrmann during a night out before consensual sex at a house in the rural city's east about 4am. The woman said she was woken about 10am by Lehrmann sexually assaulting her. Lehrmann's former defence barrister Andrew Hoare said at a prior committal hearing that the alleged victim was too intoxicated to remember giving consent and Lehrmann could have mistakenly believed he had consent for further sex acts. His former solicitor Rowan King previously told Lynch their legal team would apply for the trial to be heard without a jury, with a judge determining the verdict.
ABC News
22-05-2025
- ABC News
Bruce Lehrmann's lawyers seek disclosure of Toowoomba rape case evidence
The lawyer for former Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lehrmann has today told a court there was "a shroud of secrecy" over the police investigation into allegations he raped a woman west of Brisbane. And the lawyer complained that the defence had only received about 200 pages of a 2,200-page download from the complainant's mobile phone records. Mr Lehrmann's legal team is seeking access to all police notebooks, diary entries, emails and text messages related to the rape investigation. Mr Lehrmann faces two charges of rape alleged to have occurred in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, in October 2021. The matter was mentioned in the Toowoomba District Court today where Mr Lehrmann's lawyer, Zali Burrows, told the court that the Crown had shared the brief of evidence with the defence about two weeks ago. "In respect of the status of the brief, there does appear to be a shroud of secrecy over the investigation in that the Crown cannot confirm at this stage if there are any police notebooks or diary entries in respect of this investigation, which is pretty concerning," Ms Burrows told Judge Dennis Lynch. "And in respect of the complainant's phone, it appears that we have only received about 200 pages … from the 2,200-page cellebrite [forensic download] report," she said. Ms Burrows told the court it was not a matter for the Crown to determine what was relevant to the defence case in terms of the brief of evidence against her client. Ms Burrows said the defence had filed an application on Wednesday this week seeking disclosure of the full cellebrite download, in an unredacted form, of the complainant's mobile phone. The defence is also seeking "all police notebooks, diaries and emails and text messages in respect of the investigation". Ms Burrows said the matter could not be moved forward until the defence could access the full mobile phone download and police notebook information. All parties in the case, including Judge Lynch, appeared in the matter, heard in Toowoomba today, via telephone hook-up. Mr Lehrmann was not required to be at the court and was not present. The 29-year-old was committed to stand trial on two counts of rape at a committal hearing in the Toowoomba Magistrates Court in July 2024. The complainant in the case, who cannot be identified, testified at the committal hearing in a closed court. It is alleged that Mr Lehrmann and the woman had consensual sex, after which the complainant fell asleep. It is alleged she woke up some time later, on the morning of October 10, 2021, to Mr Lehrmann having sex with her. She told police she was in shock and not consenting and asked him to stop. The complainant made her formal police complaint on November 26, 2021. Mr Lehrmann has not yet entered a plea to the charges. Judge Lynch adjourned the matter for a hearing on June 20 of the defence application for further disclosure of the Crown case. Mr Lehrmann remains on bail.
News.com.au
22-05-2025
- News.com.au
Lawyer in Bruce Lehrmann's rape trial claims ‘shroud of secrecy' over police investigation, texts ‘cherrypicked'
A lawyer for former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann, who is facing two counts of rape, has claimed there is a 'shroud of secrecy' surrounding the investigation due to the lack of confirmation of the existence of police notebooks and diary entries. Zali Burrows, Mr Lehrmann's solicitor, flagged what she claimed were 'pretty concerning' aspects of the police investigation into her client during a brief call-over mention at Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Thursday. Mr Lehrmann, 29, remains on bail and was not required to appear. Police charged him with two counts of rape in January 2023, alleging the charges stem from an incident in Toowoomba back in 2021. Mr Lehrmann was last year committed to stand trial in the District Court on the charges. A date for trial has not been set and Mr Lehrmann has not yet entered a plea but has previously indicated he will fight the charges. During Thursday's mention, Ms Burrows said the Crown had served her with the brief of evidence about two weeks ago. She told the court there appeared to be a 'shroud of secrecy' over the investigation. 'The Crown cannot confirm, at this stage, if there are any police notebook or diary entries in respect of this investigation, which is pretty concerning,' Ms Burrows said. She flagged another issue surrounding the complainant's phone, saying she had only received about 200 pages – with redactions – from a 2200 page Cellebrite report on the complainant's phone. Ms Burrows alleged the material had been 'cherrypicked with disjointed text exchanges'. 'We are having issues with full service redactions and what we view as nondisclosure of police notebooks and diaries,' she said. The court was told Ms Burrows had filed an application seeking the full unredacted disclosure of the Cellebrite report on the complainant's phone, along with all police 'notebooks, diaries, emails and text messages' in respect of the investigation. 'We're also seeking disclosure of statements or things in possession of the prosecution which may be relevant to these proceedings, which they may not tend to rely upon in the proceedings,' Ms Burrows said. District Court judge Dennis Lynch ordered the defence to file their material supporting their application by June 13 and the Crown by June 16. Mr Lehrmann's matter will next be mentioned on June 20. Police allege Mr Lehrmann had sex with the woman twice without her consent during a night out in Toowoomba. During a committal hearing in July last year, the court was told the woman had been out drinking with friends and consumed cocaine before she went to a strip club, The Vault, in Toowoomba, where she met a man she claimed said his name was Bryce. It will be alleged in court that Mr Lehrmann gave the woman a false name of 'Bryce' when the pair met before clarifying his name as 'Bruce'. The pair allegedly has consensual sex after leaving the club and using more cocaine. The woman claims she then lost consciousness and woke to Mr Lehrmann having sex with her without consent, telling him to stop. It is further alleged moments later, he again had sexual intercourse with her without consent. Mr Lehrmann was represented by criminal solicitor Rowan King, from RK Law, in the lead-up to his committal. But in a surprise move back in March, Mr Lehrmann announced he was dropping his legal team, instead naming Ms Burrows as his new legal representative. A source close to Mr Lehrmann said of Ms Burrows: 'He works well with her, that's clear from the appeal under way and wins she's already had. She (Ms Burrows) won't be afraid to rain down hell if it's needed, and Bruce needs that.'
