The 2019 rape trial in Australia’s parliament was dismissed after it was quashed in October over a jury breach of rules. Bruce Lehrmann, a former collaborator of the Liberal party, was accused of raping his colleague, Brittany Higgins, in the office of the defense minister. Lehrmann has always denied any accusation against him.
A retrial was originally scheduled for February, but prosecutors determined holding it may be too risky for the mental health of Higgins, who is currently hospitalized coping with the trauma of the alleged rape. Shane Drumgold, the Australian prosecution director for the Canberra Capital Territory, where the trial was due to take place, said a retrial would carry “significant and unacceptable risk to the life of the complainant” and the mental health of she. Drumgold said he made the decision after consulting two independent medical experts.
