- Huge Bruce Lehrmann tattoo is genuine, not AI-generated
- Surrounding the portrait are the words “actual victim” and “survivor.”
- Do you know more? Send an email to charlotte.karp@mailonline.com
A Bruce Lehrmann supporter who sports a huge tattoo of the rapist’s face on his shoulder has been identified as a former Western Australian police officer.
On Monday, Federal Court Judge Michael Lee found, on a balance of probabilities, that Lehrmann raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House on March 23, 2019.
The damning finding marked the end of Lehrmann’s defamation trial against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson, and also put an end to long-standing questions about whether or not Ms Higgins was raped.
He was branded a rapist by civil court standards and was easily the biggest loser of the trial.
But behind it could be a man who made the lifelong decision to tattoo a portrait of Lehrmann on his upper arm.
The tattoo appears to mimic a photo taken of Lehrmann outside the ACT Supreme Court during his criminal trial, which was abandoned due to juror misconduct.
The words “actual victim” and “survivor” appear around the portrait.
Bruce Lehrmann is pictured, right, with his former media advisor John Macgowan.
Pictured: a tattoo of Bruce Lehrmann’s face. Macgowan revealed that the tattoo is on the arm of a police officer.
About an hour after Judge Lee’s findings were handed down on Monday, Lehrmann’s former media advisor John Macgowan took to X and revealed that the tattoo, which has gone viral online, is genuine.
‘This can’t be real, right?’ one user asked.
Mr Macgowan replied: “Not only is it real, but I found the guy who got it and he’s a police officer.”
WhatsNew2Day Australia understands the owner of the tattoo is a former Western Australian police officer.
Mr Macgowan himself was brought to trial in early April, when it was revealed he negotiated Lehrmann’s exclusive interview deal with Channel Seven’s Spotlight programme.
He tried to settle for $200,000 while the jury in Lehrmann’s rape trial was still deliberating in October 2022, but he wanted the money to go into a trust account so it wouldn’t look like Lehrmann was being paid.
Instead, the network agreed to pay Lehrmann a year’s rent in exchange for two interviews, worth about $105,000.
Bruce Lehrmann is pictured outside court on Monday after the findings were handed down.
Ms Higgins’ rape allegations were tried in the ACT Supreme Court in October 2022, but the case collapsed when a juror brought banned investigative material to court.
The ACT’s top prosecutor dropped the sexual assault charge against her two months later, citing concerns for Ms Higgins’ mental health.
Lehrmann launched a defamation action over an episode of The Project in February 2021, during which Higgins first aired her rape allegations in an interview with Lisa Wilkinson.
He was not named in that broadcast but claimed friends and colleagues were able to identify him as Ms Higgins’ rapist and launched defamation actions in a bid to clear his name.
However, that plan collapsed on Monday when Judge Lee found that Lehrmann was likely to rape Ms Higgins.
If he hadn’t filed the civil case, he would never have been branded a rapist in court.
Do you know the owner of the tattoo? Send an email to charlotte.karp@mailonline.com