Brittany Higgins: Excessive-profile Australian rape case dropped attributable to fears over accuser’s psychological well being

Brittany Higgins: High-profile Australian rape case dropped due to fears over accuser's mental health

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Sydney, Australia
CNN
 — 

Prosecutors in Australia have ended high-profile legal action against a former government staffer accused of raping a colleague inside Parliament House, saying a retrial would pose a “significant and unacceptable risk” to the woman’s life.

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) director of public prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, told reporters Friday that the risk to Brittany Higgins’ mental health must be put ahead of the need for a resolution in the case.

Higgins, a former federal government staffer, alleges she was raped by former colleague Bruce Lehrmann in the office of Australia’s then defense minister in 2019.

Lehrmann pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and maintains he has never engaged in intercourse with Higgins, consensual or otherwise.

The charge has now been dropped.

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