Brittany Higgins’ fiancé David Sharaz threatens to sue LinkedIn user for questioning her rape claims
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David Sharaz has threatened to sue a business executive who questioned the legitimacy of his fiancee Brittany Higgins’ rape claims, just weeks before he was accused of ‘trolling’ and defaming Senator Linda Reynolds in a series of tweets.
Sharaz, 29, personally supported Ms Higgins on the ACT Supreme Court during the high-profile trial of accused rapist Bruce Lehrmann in October last year.
She alleged that Mr Lehrmann raped her at Canberra’s Parliament House after a night out in March 2019, however the four-week hearing was canceled due to misconduct by a jury.
The case was then dropped entirely. by the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions in November due to concerns about Ms Higgins’ mental health. Lehrmann has consistently denied the allegations against her.
The trial was widely reported in the media and has become the subject of ongoing debate among social media users.
Last month, a Queensland consultant weighed in on the conversation in a LinkedIn post.
David Sharaz supported his fiancee Brittany Higgins during the high-profile trial of her accused rapist
A business executive used LinkedIn to question the legitimacy of Brittany Higgins’ rape claims (pictured)
He noted that Ms. Higgins signed a $325,000 book deal with a major publisher before she finished giving her statement to police, echoing a key argument made in court by Mr. Lehrmann’s defense attorney during the trial.
“Brittany Higgins comes clean after accusing her college of rape work,” the user wrote.
The defendant faces a bleak future as his accuser cashes a $300,000 publisher’s check for his memoirs and prime ministerial awards.
‘Who is right and who is wrong?’
Weeks after the post was published, Sharaz responded, claiming it was inaccurate and defamatory.
The businessman erroneously claimed that ACT’s director of public prosecution, Shane Drumgold, said during the trial that Mr Lehrmann “had no case to answer”.
In fact, he was referring to an article published by The Australian at the beginning of December which claimed that ACT senior officials did not believe there was enough evidence to prosecute Mr Lehrmann.
In any event, the inaccuracy does not denigrate Ms. Higgins.
David Sharaz told the business executive the post was ‘defamatory’ in two comments (pictured)
In his response to the post, Sharaz said: “This is not remotely accurate and is actually defamatory.”
The user replied: ‘My opinion has been formed without malice, more like sadness. My apologies for my opinion David.
Sharaz said: “Your opinion is factually incorrect and you have exposed yourself to the risk of being sued for defamation.”
Another user then chimed in, asking Sharaz to respond to a series of texts that were read out in court, where Ms Higgins was joking with her ex-boyfriend about starting a “sex scandal” in parliament. Sharaz did not reply.
It comes just days after Senator Linda Reynolds filed an appeal with the WA Supreme Court alleging that Sharaz defamed her in two tweets posted in 2022.
Senator Reynolds was the boss of Ms. Higgins and Mr. Lehrmann at the time of the alleged incident, and has been a leading figure in the case since the allegations were first published in 2021.
The senator is seeking aggravated damages from Sharaz, demanding that he cover the cost of legal proceedings.
He also requested a court order preventing future publication of the tweets.
Linda Reynolds (above) claims that two tweets shared by David Sharaz last year were falsely defamed by her.
Sharaz deactivated his Twitter account on Friday, but his profile was reactivated again on Monday afternoon.
“For the better part of the last two years, I have been the subject of very distressing harassment and trolling on social media about myself and my conduct in regards to events involving Ms. Brittany Higgins, which has damaged my reputation and has caused me, my family and my staff considerable stress and anguish,’ said Senator Reynolds the aussie.
“Mr. Sharaz has been a constant participant in trolling.
“In light of the conclusion of the criminal trial and the resolution of the civil action involving Ms. Higgins and the Commonwealth, I am now free to take steps to vindicate my reputation and bring some truth to the matters at issue in these trolling comments. ‘
Sydney-based law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler confirmed that wa today will be advising Sharaz.
Just weeks earlier, Reynolds filed a lawsuit against publisher HarperCollins over lines in journalist Aaron Patrick’s book Ego: Malcolm Turnbull and the Liberal Party’s Civil War.
The book focuses primarily on the struggle within the Liberal Party and the relationship between former Prime Ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison, but also addresses some of the party’s recent scandals, including the rape accusation of Ms Higgins.
During the trial, Reynolds was questioned by prosecutor Drumgold about the text messages he sent to Lehrmann’s defense team during Higgins’ cross-examination.
The texts seemed to suggest a line of questioning for Mr. Lehrmann’s team to follow, however Reynolds denied claims that he tried to “train” them.
She claims that comments made in Patrick’s books are defamatory, including a passage suggesting that Reynolds told Higgins that her alleged rape was “the cost of being a woman.”