The primary week of the ACT Supreme Court docket trial being adopted by the nation has concluded after days of questioning the lady at its centre.
Brittany Higgins initially sat within the courtroom as CCTV footage from the evening she alleges she was raped was performed for the jury.
It begins with what seems like an everyday Friday evening out at a preferred Canberra bar: Ms Higgins arrives in a white cocktail costume, says hey to a desk of her colleagues, will get herself a drink.
Most individuals on the desk thought they had been about to change into unemployed, Miss Higgins afterwards instructed the courtroom. The 2019 election was looming and the Liberal Get together, for whom some labored as ministerial staffers, was anticipated to lose authorities.
She had been in Canberra a matter of months, transferring from the Gold Coast to take up her self-described dream job working for a federal minister.
The person she accuses of raping her, Bruce Lehrmann, additionally sat in courtroom. He has pleaded not responsible to sexual assault with out consent.
The pair had been staffers within the workplace of then defence business minister Linda Reynolds.
In his opening deal with to the jury, Lehrmann's defence lawyer Steven Whybrow stated the Mark Twain quote "by no means let the reality get in the best way of a superb story" rang true on this case.
He stated whereas violence towards ladies was an "under-reported and under-prosecuted scourge on our society", the story Ms Higgins had instructed of that evening was not true.
Over four-and-a-half hours on Friday, March 22 2019, condensed into about an hour's value of footage, Ms Higgins is seen having 11 drinks.
Crown prosecutor Shane Drumgold requested her to verify the quantity because the clip continued. He famous every time, who paid for them.
Mr Lehrmann is seen shopping for Ms Higgins' drinks on some events.
In an interview with police two years after the alleged assault, Ms Higgins describes herself "as drunk as she'd ever been in her life".
Later, the pair are seen leaving the bar. Ms Higgins stated she went to a nightclub with Lehrmann and two colleagues and recalled the group taking photographs.
The jury additionally noticed footage of Ms Higgins and Lehrmann arriving at Parliament Home within the early hours of Saturday.
Ms Higgins walked via the safety gate, was required to take off her footwear and struggled to place them again on.
Barefoot and carrying her heels, she and Lehrmann had been escorted to Senator Reynold's workplace by a safety guard. The movie sequence ended after the pair entered.
The jury noticed nonetheless photos of Senator Reynolds' workplace, the place the assault allegedly occurred, taken by police two years later.
When a close-up of the sofa was proven, Ms Higgins described how she was "jammed up within the nook" when she woke as much as Lehrmann having intercourse together with her.
"I felt like a prop," she stated.
Recounting the alleged rape, Ms Higgins stated she felt "trapped" and "not human" as Lehrmann hovered over her.
"It did not really feel prefer it was about me in any respect," she stated.
She stated she was crying and asking him to cease "on repeat".
The footage additionally confirmed Lehrmann leaving parliament alone about an hour after arriving.
Ms Higgins is seen leaving the constructing at 10am on Saturday, sporting a jacket she borrowed from a bag of garments within the minister's workplace.
She stated when she returned to work on Monday following the alleged assault, Lehrmann didn't appear ashamed or upset about what had occurred.
She was scared she would not be believed due to his extra senior function within the workplace.
However she was additionally afraid of the story leaking and the potential injury to the Liberal Get together forward of the election.
She instructed police she would have conversations in individual or on WhatsApp.
"In hindsight, I made it rather a lot tougher for myself to confirm. It was so silly," she instructed police as she began to cry.
"It isn't silly, Brittany," Detective Main Senior Constable Trent Madders instructed her.
The courtroom heard whereas Ms Higgins initially felt supported by her chief of employees, Fiona Brown, after she revealed her allegations, the tone rapidly shifted.
In a gathering with Ms Brown and Senator Reynolds, Ms Higgins stated the latter apologised for what had occurred however the dialog turned to the upcoming election.
After dreaming of changing into a political media adviser, she stated she feared she would lose her job if she made a grievance to the police.
Mr Whybrow tried to discredit Ms Higgins' actions following the alleged assault.
He recommended she instructed Ms Brown and her ex-partner Ben Dillaway about false physician's appointments to "bolster" her allegations.
He put to Ms Higgins that she didn't go to the physician as a result of she had not had intercourse with anybody.
"Nothing you might be saying proper now could be true ... and it is deeply insulting," she stated.
Ms Higgins admitted underneath cross-examination she had underestimated the extent of media consideration she would obtain after going public together with her allegations in 2021.
"I by no means essentially thought that ... the police would ever prosecute this argument, I by no means thought I would get right here, I by no means thought his (Lehrmann's) identify would ever be printed," she stated.
"I simply wished to talk to a cultural drawback that I had gone via."
Chief Justice Lucy McCallum urged the jury to not learn any media experiences in regards to the case.
"You have to relaxation solely on the proof you hear on this courtroom," she reminded them.
Are you able to inform which Aussie politician that is?
The trial continues on Monday, when Ms Higgins will proceed being cross-examined.