Lehrmann has been committed to stand trial over the allegations.
Magistrate Mark Howden on Thursday dismissed a bid by Lehrmann’s barrister to have the case thrown out,finding there was sufficient evidence to suggest a crime may have been committed for the matter to proceed to trial in the District Court.
Lehrmann denies the allegations.
Bruce Lehrmann (right) leaves the Magistrates Court in Toowoomba last month. Lehrmann has been committed to stand trial on two counts of rape.Dan Peled/ The Sydney Morning Herald
Lehrmann,who participated in the Toowoomba Magistrates Court hearing via audio link,is accused of raping a woman twice after of Toowoomba in 2021.
When the magistrate asked whether he had anything to say to the court,Lehrmann replied:“Not at this time,thank you,your honour.”
The accused and the woman had met at The Vault club,before leaving together to spend the night at the home of one of Lehrmann’s friends.
Inside the Vault nightclub in Toowoomba.Vault website
Howden said the woman testified about getting into bed with Lehrmann,the sexual activity that took place,and that both parties had used cocaine.
The court was told the complainant agreed there was initial consensual sex,but the two charges related to subsequent acts.
Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald said:“What is required is consent to be given to each act of intercourse”,noting that the initial consent was given on the basis that Lehrmann would use a condom.
Howden said the woman testified that she woke to find Lehrmann penetrating her from behind.
“She goes on to say,‘I could still feel I was drunk’. She then says it was light in the room,‘I remember rolling back and putting my arm on him and said ‘stop what you are doing’.”
Howden said the woman claimed:“He kept having sex with me while I just lay there”,and said he had ejaculated inside of her.
Friedewald said the complainant never consented to having sex without a condom and had told Lehrmann to stop attempting to have unprotected sex.
The court was told Lehrmann then climbed on top of the woman and resumed intercourse.
“He was consoling her throughout that act,saying:‘it’s OK,it’s OK’,” Friedewald said. “He continued having intercourse until he ejaculated inside of her,” she said.
Friedewald said the prosecution argued that Lehrmann did nothing to ascertain that the woman consented,and had acted to the contrary.
Howden said the complainant described a subsequent conversation she had with Lehrmann about the previous night and early morning.
The magistrate said Lehrmann said they had sex on four occasions,and that the complainant said in her statement she could not remember “any of that”.
Lehrmann’s barrister,Andrew Hoare KC,told the court the consensual sex between Lehrmann and the woman “contextualised” the events that followed.
Referring to the prosecution’s evidence that the complainant said she “woke up” during the alleged rape,Hoare argued the complainant had consumed alcohol and cocaine,which affected memory.
Howden said the woman recalled saying she needed a morning-after pill that day because she was not on any contraception.
Lehrmann and the woman visited a pharmacy,and afterwards,she asked for a coffee and to be brought home,the court heard. The magistrate said transactions on Lehrmann’s bank card showed $16.95 was spent at the pharmacy at 12.38pm on October 10,followed by about $10 at a McDonald’s at 12.59pm.
Hoare submitted that when the woman later filled out a checklist at the pharmacy to explain the need for emergency contraception,she ticked the box “contraceptive failure”,instead of ticking the box that indicated sexual assault.
He told the court she also visited her doctor in the weeks after,including for a WorkCover claim and mental health reasons,and for a test to check for sexually transmitted diseases. Again,Hoare argued,she failed to refer to any sexual assault.
Hoare said the woman had also described the night in a message to friends the following day,saying:“Had a bunch of fun with my friends”.
But Friedewald told the court the woman exchanged messages with a friend some time after the incident,writing:“I was starting to feel really shit because I hadn’t really processed what happened”.
The friend encouraged the woman to make a complaint to police.
In committing Lehrmann to stand trial,Howden said the case would be heard by a judge sitting alone or a jury,who would consider the reliability of the woman’s evidence.
If you or anyone you know needs support,you can contact the National Sexual Assault,Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on (1800 737 732), 131 114,or 1300 224 636.
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