Published: Less than 20 min ago
After a twelve-day trial and a week of jury deliberations, the trial against a man accused of raping a woman inside Australia’s parliament in 2019 is overturned. According to the judge, at least one juror has read material that was not part of the case.
According to the court, when cleaning the jury’s premises, a report was found that dealt with false accusations of rape.
Chief Justice Lucy McCallum says, according to ABC News, that she repeatedly told jurors that they would not hear anything other than what is presented during the trial.
– You must rely exclusively on the evidence that you hear in this courtroom. If you find out anything about this case and I’m not involved, then it’s something you shouldn’t know, McCallum said.
On Monday, the jury announced that it did not agree but that it would continue deliberations. The entire legal process is now suspended and the trial is planned to be resumed in February next year. The suspect is free on bail until then.
It was in February last year that Brittany Higgins, a former employee of the Liberal Party, told how she was raped in 2019 by a male colleague inside the parliament building. Higgins told how she was pressured not to report the incident and describes it as “it was treated as a political problem”.
Higgins’ testimony prompted several other women to come forward and tell of abuse. The stories shook the country and led to major protests.