Australia

Bruce Lehrmann: Australian parliament rape trial aborted over juror 'misconduct' Published 7 minutes ago Share IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Bruce Lehrmann pleaded not guilty to rape By Simon Atkinson in Canberra and Shaimaa Khalil in Sydney BBC News The case of a former political adviser accused of raping a colleague inside Australia's Parliament House has been aborted after juror "misconduct". Bruce Lehrmann, 27, denies sexually assaulting Brittany Higgins on a government minister's sofa after a night out in March 2019. He says they did not have sex at all. But after a 12-day trial and five days of deliberation the jury was discharged when it emerged one member had looked at academic research on sexual assault. Juries are required to decide a case only on evidence presented in court. "It may be that no harm has been done, but that is not a risk I can take," Chief Justice Lucy McCallum told a Canberra court. Judge McCallum estimated she