A judge brutally lashed out at Bruce Lehrmann when he lost a legal battle to keep his identity secret in a high-profile rape case.
Police charged the former parliamentary assistant with two counts of rape earlier this year. It is alleged they stemmed from an incident in Toowoomba in October 2021. He has not entered a plea to the charges but denies the allegations.
Mr Lehrmann conducted an interview with Channel Seven earlier this year – something Queensland Supreme Court Justice Peter Applegarth took into account when deciding to reject a non-publication order protecting the suspect’s identity.
Mr Applegarth said Mr Lehrmann’s decision to take part in the Spotlight interview – as well as other interviews on Sunrise and Sky News – was at odds with his lawyer’s claims that media reports of the new allegations have been could harm mental health.
“A cynic might say, ‘I hope Channel Seven paid him, or his lawyers, a lot of money’, especially because of the impact it had on his application,” Applegarth said in court on Thursday.
The judge added that while the name would “weigh heavily” on Mr Lehrmann, the “unfortunate effect on his mental health” was not sufficient reason to uphold the non-publication order.
Bruce Lehrmann has lost a major legal battle to keep his identity protected in a high-profile rape case
Earlier this month, a magistrate ordered that the non-publication order to protect his identity be lifted, but his legal team appealed to the High Court, asking for that decision to be quashed.
Media companies opposed the continuation of the order.
Due to laws in Queensland that initially prevented the identification of people charged with prescribed sex crimes, including rape, Mr Lehrmann’s identity could not be revealed when he first appeared in court in January this year.
That protection was withdrawn earlier this month after the Queensland state government changed parts of the legislation.
However, before the changes came into effect, the man’s lawyers successfully filed a non-publication application in the High Court, allowing their client to remain protected.
On October 12, this order was revoked at the Toowoomba Magistrates Court, with the man’s lawyers indicating they would appeal the decision immediately afterwards.
At the time, the court was told the high-profile man was at ‘significant’ risk of self-harm if his identity was published.
But High Court Judge Peter Applegarth said Mr Lehrmann had not made a non-publication order necessary to protect his mental health because his evidence failed to “compel” the magistrate to allow it to remain in force.
Media companies had pointed to prominent interviews Mr Lehrmann conducted with Channel 7’s Spotlight and Sky News Australia.
Media companies had pointed to prominent interviews Mr. Lehrmann conducted
It was submitted on behalf of the media entities that there was ‘an inconsistency between the applicant’s public presentation and what the psychologist said about him’.
Judge Applegarth ruled that the magistrate took into account the psychologist’s evidence in her initial decision.
“Rather than lower his public profile and withdraw from media attention, the applicant, for whatever reason, chose to appear on national television more than once and, in early 2021, repeat the events that led to his mental illness had caused,” he said in his judgment.
‘He apparently felt well enough to engage with parts of the national media, and to deal with the resulting further coverage he received from the media he appeared on and other media following up on his high-profile appearances.
Judge Applegarth said Lehrmann had not established that the magistrate’s decision was unreasonable in a legal sense “or so unreasonable that no reasonable magistrate could have made that decision.”
At a judicial review on Thursday, the man’s lawyer, Andrew Hoare, told the Brisbane Supreme Court that the magistrate’s decision should be quashed and the non-publication order should continue.
He said if his client were identified he would be at increased risk of ‘catastrophic’ self-harm.
Mr Hoare said the sitting magistrate erred in finding that his client had chosen not to seek medication or see a psychologist.
“The risk is greater if there is no support (or involvement) among health workers,” he said.
“The use of the term ‘That is his choice’ imposes some kind of obligation on the applicant.”
The court was told that a forensic psychologist had ‘serious concerns’ about the high-profile man’s mental health.
But Rob Anderson QC, appearing for the media entities, questioned the likelihood of harm to the applicant.
“There is no error of law,” Anderson said of the magistrate’s decision.
Judge Applegarth noted that any decision regarding non-publication orders would not advance or halt the conduct of a future hearing. He said the level of risk must be taken into account.
“The focus of the hearing appears to be what can be said at this time about the state of the suspect’s psychology and what effective measures are available to him to reduce the identified risk,” he said.
Lehrmann’s identity as the high-profile man may be revealed after a High Court judicial review and non-publication order was dismissed on Thursday
The alleged rape victim claimed she met Mr Lehrmann during a night out that started when she joined friends at the Powerhouse music venue in Toowoomba.
After drinking with friends, she went to a strip club called The Vault, where she drank more alcohol and met Mr. Lehrmann.
Mr Lehrmann is said to have introduced himself as ‘Bryce’, News.com.au reports.
Later, police allege the woman took a taxi to his friend’s house with Mr. Lehrmann.
They had sex once that night and twice in the morning, but the woman claims the last two times were not consensual because he was reportedly not wearing a condom.
Failure to wear a condom without a partner’s consent is considered sexual assault under Queensland law.
Police will allege the woman told Lehrmann she needed a morning-after pill and they drove to a pharmacy in a farmhouse.
She then allegedly asked Mr. Lehrmann to take her home and he stopped at McDonald’s along the way.
Weeks later, the woman was reportedly talking to a friend’s mother about the Higgins case when she looked for details on her phone and saw Mr. Lehrmann’s photo – and recognized him as the same person who allegedly had sex with her.
The woman reported the incident to police the next day before making a formal statement. Lehrmann was charged on January 10 with two counts of rape. He denies the accusations.
It will be alleged in court that the pair spoke on Snapchat for a few days after the meeting but soon lost contact.
Police claim they have CCTV footage from the club showing the couple leaving together, and that the man has booked a taxi.