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The case against a former political adviser accused of raping a colleague inside Australia’s Parliament House has been dropped. Bruce Lehrmann, 27, denies sexually assaulting Brittany Higgins on a minister’s sofa after a night out in 2019. He maintains no sex took place.
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The ongoing risk to Ms Higgins’s mental health means a retrial is not in the public interest, prosecutors say. New medical advice found that a planned retrial for February posed an unacceptable risk to her wellbeing, Australian Capital Territory Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold said on Friday.
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Before giving her account to police in early 2021, Ms Higgins gave up her right to anonymity and went public with her claims in high-profile newspaper and television interviews.
