Rape case that shook Australian politics abandoned over mental health fears - CNN

Sydney, Australia CNN  — 

Prosecutors successful Australia person ended high-profile ineligible enactment against a erstwhile authorities staffer accused of raping a workfellow wrong Parliament House, saying a retrial would airs a “significant and unacceptable risk” to the woman’s life.

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) manager of nationalist prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, told reporters Friday that the hazard to Brittany Higgins’ intelligence wellness indispensable beryllium enactment up of the request for a solution successful the case.

Higgins, a erstwhile national authorities staffer, alleges she was raped by erstwhile workfellow Bruce Lehrmann successful the bureau of Australia’s past defence curate successful 2019.

Lehrmann pleaded not blameworthy to intersexual intercourse without consent and maintains helium has ne'er engaged successful intercourse with Higgins, consensual oregon otherwise.

The complaint has present been dropped.

Drumgold said helium had received “compelling evidence” from 2 autarkic aesculapian experts that the “ongoing trauma associated with this prosecution presents a important and unacceptable risk” to Higgins’ life.

“The grounds makes it wide that this is not constricted to the harm of giving grounds successful a witnesser box,” helium said.

The lawsuit went to proceedings successful Canberra successful October, but the justice ordered a retrial owed to assemblage misconduct. The retrial had been acceptable to instrumentality spot successful February 2023.

However, Drumgold told reporters Friday that a retrial was nary longer successful the nationalist interest.

“This has near maine nary enactment but to record a announcement declining to proceed with the retrial of this matter, which I person done this morning. This brings the prosecution to an end,” Drumgold said.

Higgins is presently successful hospital, according to a connection from her person Emma Webster connected Friday.

“The past mates of years person been hard and unrelenting,” Webster stated. “Brittany is highly grateful for each the enactment she has received, peculiarly from our intelligence wellness attraction workers.”

In the archetypal trial, the justice dismissed the 12-member assemblage deliberating the rape verdict aft it was revealed a juror had researched the allegations and taken that accusation into the assemblage room.

Higgins alleged Lehrmann had raped her successful 2019 aft the 2 shared a taxi to Parliament House pursuing a nighttime retired with colleagues successful the capital.

Higgins approached constabulary soon aft the alleged incidental but didn’t marque a ceremonial complaint, citing fears that taking the substance further could harm her career.

But successful 2021, she spoke to media and the lawsuit made headlines, not lone due to the fact that of the determination of the alleged onslaught but owed to Higgins’ claims that she had been discouraged from coming guardant to debar governmental fallout earlier the 2019 election.

Lehrmann was arrested and charged past twelvemonth but the proceedings was delayed, partially owed to fears that publicity astir the lawsuit meant helium wouldn’t get a just hearing.