“Outrageous” leaks to the media during Bruce Lehrmann’s trial sparked fury from the office of the ACT’s director of public prosecutions.
Lehrmann faced a criminal trial in the ACT supreme court last year over a rape allegation made by his former colleague Brittany Higgins.
The trial was discontinued because of juror misconduct, and a retrial ruled out because of the potential effect on the mental health of Higgins and Lehrmann.
Now an inquiry into the trial is examining what went on behind the scenes of the trial, and the conduct of police and prosecutors.
According to documents tendered at the inquiry, Sky Jerome, a junior counsel for the prosecution, voiced concerns to Lehrmann’s lawyer Steven Whybrow after an article about the case was published in the Australian newspaper.
The article was about a report that raised concerns about the “strength and reliability” of Higgins’s evidence, as well as her mental health and “how any future prosecution may affect her wellbeing”. It referred to what became known as the Moller report, which was secret at the time.
Jerome sent a screenshot of the article to Whybrow and asked him who leaked the documents. It’s “outrageous”, she said in a text.
Whybrow said he had “no idea” where the leak came from, but it was “100%” not his team, and said to Jerome “[I] hope you make the same accusation to the cops”.
The inquiry has heard about ongoing tensions between the police and ACT director of public prosecutions, Shane Drumgold. There have been claims a senior police officer believed Lehrmann was innocent, and accusations that Drumgold insinuated he was guilty.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Mark Tedeschi, acting for Drumgold, asked Whybrow about his suggestion that Drumgold should have “reined in” Higgins.
“Did you have in mind that something he could have done would have been to seek some undertaking from her, that she would not make any public comments about the case at all or refer to the trial at all or in any way interfere with the administration of justice?” Tedeschi asked.
“Yes,” said Whybrow.
Lehrmann’s lawyer has also been critical of a media release issued by Drumgold after the trial was stopped, in which the top prosecutor said he thought there was still a reasonable prospect of conviction.
Whybrow said that “with the imprimatur of the DPP” the statement was “taken by people in the community to suggest that he had thought he was guilty”.
The lawyer also spoke about meeting with a senior police officer investigating the case who Whybrow claims told him he would resign if Lehrmann was found guilty.
Tedeschi asked Whybrow about his meeting with detective inspector Marcus Boorman. Tedeschi put it to Whybrow that Boorman was “quite distressed” and “thought Mr Lehrmann was innocent”.
“Correct,” Whybrow said.
“And then in the context of that conversation, he said to you that if the jury came back with a guilty verdict, that he would resign from the police force,” Tedeschi said.
“Words to that effect, is my recollection, yes,” Whybrow said.
Earlier, Tedeschi said police had a “bizarre approach” to the Lehrmann case, and that Higgins’s allegation of rape would have been ignored had it not allegedly taken place in Parliament House.
Tedeschi said a report had found ACT police were “undercharging” when it came to accusations of sex abuse, and that this was an example of their “general attitude” to sex abuse cases.
Drumgold knew that, he said, and it was part of the reason his relationship with police was poor.
Whybrow said in his opinion it was Drumgold who was hostile to police.
