Bruce Lehrmann to face court on rape charges.

Bruce Lehrmann is expected to appear in a Toowoomba courtroom today, for a committal hearing over rape charges. 

The former Liberal staffer is charged with two counts of rape dating back to October 2021.

He is accused of meeting the 29-year-old alleged victim at an adult entertainment venue in his hometown of Toowoomba. He allegedly told her his name was Bryce.

News.com reports the woman told police the pair returned to a friend's house and got into bed together. 

The woman told police she kissed Lehrmann and then fell asleep. She claims she told him if they had sex; he needed to use a condom. 

Image: Getty

She alleges she woke up to him having sex with her, and claims he drove her to a chemist the next morning for the morning-after pill.

She reported the allegation a few weeks after the incident, after recognising him in media reports for another court case. 

During the hearing, his complainant — who hasn't been publicly identified — is expected to be cross-examined by Lehrmann's lawyers.

News broke of the charges in January 2023, with police releasing a statement announcing a 27-year-old man had been charged. At that time, Queensland laws prohibited the identification of Lehrmann and he was simply referred to in reports as a "high-profile man".

Those laws changed in October in response to the state's Hear Her Voice report, which allowed those charged with sexual assault to be identified before being committed to trial. It was one of a range of recommendations made by the Women's Safety and Justice Taskforce after they heard from 252 survivors about their experience in the criminal justice system. 

Lehrmann is yet to enter a plea, although he is expected to fight the charges. 

Today is the first time he has had to appear in person on these charges. 

The committal hearing will test the evidence and determine whether the case will go before a jury at trial.

If this post brings up any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. It doesn’t matter where you live, they will take your call and, if need be, refer you to a service closer to home.

Feature image: AAP