A Queensland magistrate has ordered former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann to face trial on rape charges.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrman has been committed to stand trial on two charges of
00:06rape alleged to have been committed here in Toowoomba on Queensland's Darling Downs in
00:11October of 2021.
00:13Now for the first time in open court, fresh details of the allegations have finally been
00:20aired in also a timeline of what allegedly went down that night.
00:23The female complainant in the case was on a night out with some friends in October 2021.
00:28She went to a nightclub here in Toowoomba and that's when she is said to have met the
00:32defendant in the case, Bruce Lehrman.
00:35They talked for a little while before they went to a location in East Toowoomba together
00:39a home.
00:41It's been accepted they had consensual sex and took some cocaine before the female complainant
00:46went to sleep.
00:47She then alleges that at some time she woke up to Mr Lehrman having sex with her.
00:52The court heard she asked him to stop.
00:55The following day the woman went to a pharmacy to get the morning after pill.
00:59The defense submitted that on the form she filled out that it was due to a failed contraceptive
01:04despite another box saying sexual assault.
01:07The defense says that this is not consistent with a rape allegation.
01:11The defense made a no case submission saying their client had no case to answer to.
01:17However the magistrate in the Toowoomba court did end up committing the case saying that
01:21there was a case to answer to.
01:23Now the matter will proceed to the district court.
01:26It could take some time before a trial date is set.
01:29Bruce Lehrman did not appear in person today.
01:32He appeared via phone and when asked whether he'd like to make a comment after the matter
01:37was committed to trial he declined.
01:39Outside court his lawyers also declined to comment.