Brittany Higgins said she felt “trapped” and “not human” during an alleged rape

• A former political employee from Australia claimed she felt “trapped” and “not human” during alleged rape inside Canberra’s Parliament House.
• Lehrmann, 27, entered a not guilty plea and says they never had intercourse.
• She claimed that when she awoke, Mr. Lehrmann was having sex with her.

A former political employee from Australia claimed she felt “trapped” and “not human” during alleged rape inside Canberra’s Parliament House.

Brittany Higgins was allegedly sexually attacked by Bruce Lehrmann in March 2019 while she was intoxicated and dozing off in a government minister’s office, according to the prosecution.

Mr. Lehrmann, 27, entered a not guilty plea and says they never had intercourse. This week’s trial in a court in Canberra got underway, and numerous well-known witnesses are likely to testify.

Ms. Higgins, who was testifying in court for the first time, said she had known Mr. Lehrmann for less than a month prior to the alleged attack on March 23 and that he had attempted to kiss her after a work function in the weeks prior.

Ms. Higgins had earlier testified that she and Mr. Lehrmann had agreed to share a vehicle home after a night out with friends but had instead stopped at Parliament House in a police interview that was shown to the jury.

The drunkest Ms. Higgins had ever been, she claimed, and she had passed out on a couch. She claimed that when she awoke, Mr. Lehrmann was having sex with her. She cried and implored him to stop and “no.”

In the 2021 interview, she admitted, “I wasn’t yelling, but there was certainly an urgency to it. He simply kept going.

Ms. Higgins reported that Mr. Lehrmann quickly departed the office when it was finished. “There was an odd exchange of looks… I remained silent in front of him.”

Ms. Higgins told police that she went home and cried all weekend after waking up again hours later with her dress cinched around her waist.

She disclosed the assault to a senior staff member the next week. She claimed on the police recording, “It didn’t feel genuine. But as soon as I said it aloud, it hit me.

Ms. Higgins stated during a second police interview that she was hesitant to inform her supervisors of what had occurred because she feared losing her job and felt “disposable.”

She remarked, “There was a significant difference between myself and him.

The incident was initially reported to the police by Ms. Higgins in April 2019, but she later withdrew her complaint out of concern that it would interfere with her ability to do her job during an election campaign.

After speaking with two journalists, she requested that the case be reopened in February 2021, over two years later.

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