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Man accused of raping Brittany Higgins to face court

A 26-year-old man has been summonsed to appear in court over allegations he raped former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins in 2019.

Aug 06, 2021, updated Aug 06, 2021
Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch)

Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch)

The man accused  will face a criminal charge in an ACT court over the 2019 incident.

Australian Federal Police issued a statement on Friday say a 26-year-old man had been summonsed to appear before the ACT Magistrates Court for the alleged sexual assault.

Police will allege the man had sexual intercourse with a woman without consent at Parliament House on March 23, 2019.

Officers on Friday served the man’s lawyer with a summons to appear in court on September 16.

He will face one charge of sexual intercourse without consent with a maximum penalty of 12 years’ jail.

Higgins went public with the allegation in February triggering a firestorm over a toxic culture in federal politics and national debate about the treatment of women.

She alleged she was raped by a colleague while working for then defence industry minister Linda Reynolds.

Police said detectives from the sexual assault and child abuse team first received a report on April 2019.

“The investigation remained open and in February 2021 a formal complaint was made,” they said in a statement.

“Detectives have since spoken to a number of witnesses and collected evidence as part of the investigation.”

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