Brittany Higgins’ fiance David Sharaz shares messages to Australia after court finds Bruce Lehrmann raped her in Parliament House

Brittany Higgins’ fiance David Sharaz has shared more messages with Australia after Lisa Wilkinson won her defamation case against Bruce Lehrmann.

Federal Judge Michael Lee found that Mr Lehrman raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in 2019.

His findings come after Mr Lehrmann sued Network Ten and Wilkinson for defamation over a February 2021 report on The Project in which Brittany Higgins claimed he raped her in a parliamentary office nearly two years earlier.

But Mr. Lee ruled in Network 10’s favor on Monday, ruling that its report was truthful in its allegations against Mr. Lehrmann.

‘Sir. Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins,’ Judge Lee said, a finding made by the civil court standard – the balance of probabilities, rather than beyond a reasonable doubt, the criminal court standard.

TheWSTNews Australia understands Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz saw the result of the decision from France after moving to the small town of Lunas in 2023.

Sharaz echoed comments made by several women’s rights activists on social media shortly after the decision was made.

One of the messages he shared was from sexual assault survivor and anti-violence advocate Saxon Mullins.

“We can’t forget that to get here, we watched our justice system tear apart a real person,” she said.

‘Family, friends, love life, spelling mistakes, diaries, texts, pictures, mistakes. It was all laid bare for us to judge and pick apart. Is this what justice looks like to you?’

He also wrote comments from ABC host Dr. Julia Baird, who spoke out against the coverage of the case.

‘Probably a good time to reflect on how devotedly and brutally mastheads and prominent commentators seek to undermine, discredit and destroy women who allege sexual assault or report sexual assault. There has been a lot of bullying masquerading as journalism; it’s contagious,’ read the post.

Alongside the submissions from the two lawyers, Mr Sharaz shared a statement from Network 10.

The statement reads: ‘This judgment is a triumph for the truth.

‘Justice Lee’s sentence is vindication for the brave Brittany Higgins who gave a voice to women across the nation.’

Outside court, an vindicated Mrs Wilkinson said: ‘Today the Federal Court found that I published a true story about a rape in a federal politician’s office in March 2019.

‘I sincerely hope that the verdict gives strength to women around the country.

‘I am also so grateful to have benefited from our independent legal team’.

She thanked her solicitor Sue Chrysanthou KC for her ‘expertise and wise counsel’ which has been a ‘source of continued strength for me over the last 14 months’.

Wilkinson also thanked her family and friends and ‘generous’ members of the public who often turn to her in tears.

‘Through every step of this process I have been surrounded by the love of my incredibly supportive family.

As well as incredibly supportive friends and colleagues. I can never thank them enough.

‘I also wanted to say how grateful I am to members of the public who approached me almost every day to express, often through tears, their unwavering support.’

In contrast, Mr. Lehrmann didn’t say a word when he went through the press kit after the ruling.

The former Venstre employee sat with his head bowed as he listened to the judge’s findings.

“He was a 23-year-old man who cheated on his girlfriend when he had just ‘hooked up’ with a woman he found sexually attractive,” Justice Lee said.

‘Human experience suggests that what he then wanted to happen is not exactly shrouded in mystery.’

The judge said Mr Lehrmann was “hell bent on having sex with a woman he found sexually attractive, had mutually passionately kissed and touched … and knew had reduced inhibitions.”

‘He didn’t care one way or the other whether Mrs Higgins understood or accepted what was going on.

Justice Lee ruled that, contrary to Mr Lehrmann’s evidence, intercourse did take place and that Mrs Higgins did not consent.

“I am convinced that sexual intercourse took place,” the judge said.

Justice Lee said Mr Lehrmann was “on top” of Ms Higgins and she was unable to remove herself from the sofa.

If the 28-year-old had won his defamation case, he would have been entitled to only a ‘very modest’ sum of $20,000 in damages given the limited nature of any damages from Ten’s reporting, Justice Lee said.

While a Logies speech by Lisa Wilkinson over The Project segment derailed the criminal case against Lehrmann and denied him the right to a fair trial, this gave his legal team more time to attack Ms Higgins’ claims.

The criminal case against Lehrmann was abandoned in 2022 with no findings against him.

“After escaping the lion’s den, Mr. Lehrmann made the mistake of going back for his hat,” Judge Lee said.

Justice Lee described both Lehrmann and Ms Higgins as ‘unreliable historians’ when they recounted what happened on that fateful night.

The judge said Ms Higgins had been loose with the truth about allegations made to Ten in 2021 that members of the then coalition government had tried to silence her in reporting the alleged rape.

But Justice Lee found that any incorrect statements made to police in 2019 were inconsistent with the remarks of a genuine victim of sexual assault.

The judge also slammed Ten for its behavior after Wilkinson gave a Logie speech praising Higgins’ courage just eight days before Lehrmann’s trial.

The judge pointed out that Ms Wilkinson sought advice but Network Ten failed her by suggesting she make the speech in support of Ms Higgins.

‘Tien’s behavior was grossly inappropriate and unjustified.’