Bruce Lehrmann has unleashed on Brittany Higgins’ partner David Sharaz accusing him of politically “weaponising” her sexual assault allegation.
Mr Lehrmann, a former Liberal staffer, was charged with Ms Higgins’ rape but was never convicted and has always maintained his innocence.
He has spoken out about Mr Sharaz after the leak of thousands of text messages from Ms Higgins’ private phone which show how the couple sought out support of sympathetic Labor MPs.
The material – including her iCloud password – was handed to police as part of the original conviction and was never tendered in evidence at the trial.
Mr Lehrmann told The Australian newspaper that leaked texts appear to show Mr Sharaz politically “weaponising” his partner’s sexual assault in an attempt to attack the Liberal Party.
“(Seemed) clear that he was there to sell a message and that was the weaponisation of the sexual assault,” Mr Lehrmann said.
“It wasn’t about me, it was about a bigger purpose, and clearly it was for the Labor Party,” he said.
Mr Sharaz did not want to comment when contacted by news.com.au.
Mr Lehrmann also said evidence handed over to police suggested Mr Sharaz was “being the puppet master, essentially”.
“He just keeps injecting himself into it,” Mr Lehrmann said.
“He’s just more worried about how best to spin it or sell it or drop something in the media.
“I think he’s probably now riding the wave of Higgins’ fame that he got.”
On March 16, 2021, after the story broke Sharaz wrote: “Don’t ditch me now you’re famous.”
He also told her “we exude power”.
Ms Higgins has previously rejected suggestions that Mr Sharaz was some sort of ‘puppet master’ in her decision to go public.
In her own speech at the women’s march for justice in March, 2021, she tackled the idea head on.
“I was dismayed by senior male journalists who routinely implied that my partner was pulling the strings behind the scenes,’’ she said.
“The subtle inference being that a traumatised woman wasn’t capable of weaponising her own story.
“I came forward with my story to hopefully protect other women. By staying silent, I felt like it would have made me complicit, and if something of this nature had ever happened here again, my ongoing silence would have inadvertently said to those people in charge that you can treat people in this way and it’s OK.”
Mr Lehrmann pleaded not guilty at the trial and said the alleged sexual assault “simply didn’t happen”.
Ms Higgins had long credited Mr Sharaz with supporting her during a public ordeal.
The couple got engaged on New Year’s Eve just weeks after the collapse of the rape trial.
“So lucky to be spending a lifetime with you @davidsharaz,” she said.
Mr Sharaz said he was proud to plan a lifetime together.
“I didn’t want to enter another year without you knowing that I want to spend all my years with you,” he said.
“I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”
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