Another political staffer accused of rape has lashed out at Chief Prosecutor Shane Drumgold because he, like Bruce Lehrmann, is considering suing the ACT government.
Alex Matters, 23, was found not guilty of two counts of rape against a fellow Australian National University student with whom he had a casual relationship in April.
Voice and text messages presented in court showed the woman wondering if she had been assaulted, saying in one, “I’m not fine, I’ve slept with him several times… I don’t know if I been raped.’
Mr Matters’ accuser had only come forward after he was charged with sexually assaulting another woman in September 2021.
Although the first case was dropped and all charges dropped, Mr Matters lost his job in the office of federal Labor MP David Smith and now faced a new ordeal.
The judge presiding over the second accuser’s case told the prosecutor to consult with the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Drumgold, to determine whether the second rape charge in the case should be dropped.
Former Labor staffer Alex Matters (pictured) has lashed out at the lead prosecutor in the Bruce Lehrmann trial, Shane Drumgold
“After the prosecution stated in cross-examination that she had consented to the second charge, the judge spoke to the prosecution and asked her if she had spoken to Drumgold,” Mr Matters said in an interview with Sky News Australia journalist Sharri Markson.
“We don’t know what conversation there was, if any. What we do know, however, is that the prosecution ultimately decided that they would not drop the charges and that they would ask the jury to find me guilty.”
After the presentation to the court of the text and voice messages sent to Mr Matters and friends of the second plaintiff, the judge criticized the plaintiff for their arguments.
Mr Matters was found not guilty after half a day of deliberation. He has vehemently denied the allegations made by the two women and insists he is innocent.
He has since called for transparency about Mr Drumgold’s involvement in his trial.
“You want to know what decisions are being made in terms of the charges they’re facing and how often prosecutors just forward charges to the jury when it really shouldn’t be up to the jury at this stage,” he said.
“I think the question has to be asked what Drumgold had in the decision-making process there and also the decision to take it to court.”
It comes because an inquiry into the Lehrmann trial contained a series of damning findings against Mr Drumgold, including that he knowingly misled the ACT High Court and ‘lost objectivity’ during Mr Lehrmann’s prosecution.
An inquiry into the Lehrmann trial contained a series of damning findings against Mr Drumgold (pictured), including that he knowingly misled the ACT Supreme Court and ‘lost objectivity’ during the prosecution of Mr Lehrmann
Mr Lehrmann (pictured), who is highly critical of Mr Drumgold, has confirmed he will sue the ACT government following the publication of the findings of the Sofronoff inquiry.
Mr Matters was asked his opinion on the Lehrmann trial, which he described as a ‘travesty of justice’ as no verdict was reached.
Brittany Higgins alleged that Mr Lehrmann raped her in Parliament House in 2019 when they were colleagues – which he strongly denies.
The first trial was called off due to a rogue juror, before the charges were dropped entirely due to Ms. Higgins’ mental health.
Both Mr. Matters and Mr. Lehrmann were highly critical of Mr. Drumgold.
In an interview with 7News Spotlight TV broadcast in June, Mr. Lehrmann described him as the “man who ruined my life.”
“He snatched my chance for an innocent verdict from me, but he then told Australia, ‘I still could have won it.’ What the f***?’ he said.
While Mr Matters is considering suing the ACT government over his trial, Mr Lehrmann confirmed he would take legal action following the publication of the findings of the Sofronoff inquiry.
Mr Lehrmann is already suing ABC and Channel 10 for libel.