Brittany Higgins confided her fears in a politician mate

Brittany Higgins told a Liberal MP during a phone call that she feared her rape allegations would “define” her, a court has heard.

Bruce Lehrmann is accused of sexually abusing the former Liberal staffer after a drunken night out ended in the parliamentary office of former Defense Secretary Linda Reynolds in March 2019.

Mr. Lehrmann, who was working with Ms. Higgins at the time, pleaded not guilty and is on trial in the ACT Supreme Court.

On Monday, the court heard that Ms. Higgins volunteered in the Gold Coast Liberal MP Samuel O’Connor’s office in 2018, before moving to Canberra to work in Parliament House.

Mr O’Connor, a member of Bonney on the Gold Coast, said Ms Higgins alluded to the alleged incident in text messages, but he eventually found out during a phone call in April 2019.

At one point, he told the court that Ms Higgins described the alleged incident as a “super f***ed up thing that happened.”

During the phone call, Mr. O’Connor told the court that Ms. Higgins said she had been drinking with other staffers.

“At the end of the evening she got a ride home with another employee of the office… She told me it was Bruce,” he said.

Mr O’Connor recalled that Ms Higgins was “fuzzy on the details” but was “upset” when she claimed she was “raped in the minister’s office”.

“I remember she was afraid this would define her,” he said.

“That’s why she would be remembered and because she wasn’t good at her job.”

He told the court that Ms. Higgins wanted him to let her know if there were any rumors about her.

“She asked me to let her know if I’d heard anything about her,” he said.

Mr O’Connor told the court that he knew Ms Higgins because they lived one block apart on the Gold Coast before she volunteered in his office.

He told the court that Ms Higgins was “excited” before moving to Canberra in late 2018 to work in the office of liberal frontbencher Steven Ciobo.

“This was her dream,” he said. “This was what she loved to do most.”

“She got totally captivated by the whole Canberra thing – the intense place it is down there. She was very positive.’

Earlier on Monday, the court heard Ms Higgins was “embarrassed” that a story could come out about her sneaking into parliament with Lehrmann more than a year before she publicly accused him of raping her that night.

Senator Michaelia Cash, the ex-boss of the former staffer, told the court that the office of fellow Secretary of State Linda Reynolds had received a media inquiry into Ms Higgins in October 2019.

Mrs. Higgins had worked for both politicians that year – first for Secretary of Defense Industry, Mrs. Reynolds as an Assistant Media Adviser, until she moved to Mrs. Cash’s office that same year.

Ms Cash told the court Ms Higgins was concerned that the issue of the security breach would be made public in March 2019 because the media investigation came from a Canberra Times journalist.

“She was ashamed because it had to do with herself and a safety issue,” Ms Cash said.

“She and another member of staff returned to the office after drinking… They may have been drunk.

“Mrs. Higgins fell asleep on the couch and I believe security found her the next day.”

Ms. Cash’s chief of staff, Daniel Try, told the court that he had been notified by Ms. Reynolds’ office that there had been a media investigation into Ms. Higgins and that they would send someone to speak to her.

Mr Try told the court that the former defense minister did not go into details, but said that “it was not Brittany’s fault”.

He led Mrs. Higgins to a boardroom, and someone from Mrs. Reynolds’ office came to talk to Mrs. Higgins.

Mr Try left the conference room during that meeting, but noted that Ms Higgins was upset when he returned.

Mr Try then took Ms Higgins to a meeting with Ms Cash. Ms Higgins didn’t go into detail, but she said it was a security issue being addressed at the time.

“Brittany was quite upset and I didn’t think it was appropriate to force her into details,” Mr Try said.

The process continues.