Bruce Lehrmann claims he was physically and emotionally abused by his ‘controlling’ ex-girlfriend

Bruce Lehrmann claims to have suffered physical and verbal abuse at the hands of a “controlling” girlfriend in the same year Brittany Higgins alleged that he raped her in an office in Parliament House.

In Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital records released by the Federal Court on Friday, Lehrmann alleges the abuse occurred over seven months in 2019.

The former staffer told hospital staff that his then-partner “physically beat, verbally abused and controlled him” before the couple split in mid-2019.

One of the alleged altercations resulted in Mr Lehrmann sustaining a ‘serious’ laceration to his hand after she hit him with a ‘broken cup’.

The alleged incident saw the couple break up just months after Ms Higgins claimed she was sexually assaulted in the office of then Defense Minister Linda Reynolds at Parliament House in Canberra.

The medical records were subpoenaed by Lehrmann’s defense as part of their libel case against Channel 10 presenter Lisa Wilkinson and Samantha Maiden, political editor for news.com.au.

Mr. Lehrmann is suing the media for its coverage of the sexual assault allegations raised by Ms. Higgins.

He was not named in his interview with Lisa Wilkinson in The Project or in the website article, but he claims his identity would have been known in political circles.

The former staff member has always denied having sexual contact with Ms Higgins.

Court documents also revealed that Mr. Lehrmann was drinking six alcoholic drinks “most Friday and Saturday nights, up to 10 SD (standard drinks).”

He also admitted to ‘occasional’ use of cocaine in social settings, but denied regular use of cannabis and other drugs.

The documents indicate that Mr Lehrmann had racked up $25,000 in credit card debt after moving from Canberra to Sydney and “partying after breaking up with an ex”.

The suspension from work following the sexual assault allegations caused the former employee to experience “worsening nightmares” due to financial stress.

The allegations of the assault on Parliament House came as “a huge shock” to Lehmann, who shortly afterwards had “considered suicide”.

The medical documents were subpoenaed by Mr Lehrmann’s defense during his libel case against the media for their coverage of allegations raised by Brittany Higgins (Ms Higgins appears outside ACT High Court in October)

Among other court documents was an email sent to Mr. Lehrmann from an anonymous email address warning him that people would “come for him.”

The email went on to say it would be a ‘magical 2021’ days before Brittany Higgins went public with her sexual assault allegations.

The message was sent at 11:11pm on January 25, 2021, the same night sexual assault survivor and advocate Grace Tame was named Australian of the Year.

Reference was made to Ms Tame in the email, sent from ‘brucelehrmann1@outlook.com’.

“Bruce, a woman spoke out about what happened to her tonight and she is Aussie of the Year,” the email read.

‘I want you to think about what you did and what might be around the corner for you. It’s inspiring when justice is done and the truth comes out. You know what they said: The truth will set you free.

Pictured is a mockup of the email sent by ‘brucelehrmann1@outlook.com’ to Mr. Lehrmann’s personal hotmail account on January 25, 2021.

‘How many people know what you did and how many did you tell them? How many cameras are in Parliament House and how many people tracked the vision.

‘Think about it. Two former Australian staff members, now security guards.

‘It’s going to be a magical 2021.’

The federal court is considering whether there should be an extension to the 12-month limitation period in which an applicant can sue for defamation.

Lehrmann presented the cases two years after their publication.