In-coming ACT director of public prosecutions Victoria Engel says she expects to be briefed on Bruce Lehrmann's failed defamation case

Victoria Engel takes over from Shane Drumgold as the ACT’s new Director of Public Prosecutions.  (ABC News: Adam Kennedy)

The ACT’s new Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Victoria Engel says she expects a briefing on evidence which emerged from Bruce Lehrmann’s failed defamation action.

Ms Engel is replacing Shane Drumgold, who resigned last year in the wake of Walter Sofronoff’s report into the prosecution of Mr Lehrmann.

Mr Lehrmann was accused of rape by Brittany Higgins, and his 2022 criminal trial was abandoned leaving no findings against him.

But last month, his defamation case against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson for an interview they aired with Ms Higgins resulted in the judge finding he did in fact rape her.

Mr Lehrmann has always maintained his innocence and is now considering an appeal.

During the defamation trial, former Network Seven producer Taylor Auerbach told the court Mr Lehrmann had passed on material from the criminal trial which should have remained confidential.

Seven is not revealing how it obtained the documents, and Mr Lehrmann has always denied it was him, and Justice Michael Lee said he couldn’t find an alternative.

It is one of the matters Ms Engel, who said she was hoping it would be a “fresh start” for the office, will be faced with from today.

‘I expect that I’ll be briefed’

Ms Engel has 17 years as a prosecutor under her belt, much of it at a senior level in New South Wales and the Northern Territory, where she was the principal Crown prosecutor specialising in sexual assault matters.

In an interview with the ABC she said it would not be fair to comment on the findings in Mr Lehrmann’s defamation case just yet.

“Once I start the role … I expect that I’ll be briefed with all of the relevant material,” Ms Engel said.

“Any decision to prosecute in any matter will be made consistent with the director’s guidelines, which are publicly available.”

In his judgment, Justice Lee found he was reasonably satisfied Mr Lehrmann “made (or caused to be made) false representations” about whether he shared material from his criminal trial with Channel Seven before his interview on Spotlight, which should have remained confidential.

The evidence included a photo of Mr Lehrmann’s computer screen with messages between Ms Higgins and Lisa Wilkinson’s husband Peter FitzSimons.

Ms Engel may have to decide if there are grounds for any contempt of court charges to be laid.

‘Opportunities for growth’: DPP to address sexual assault report 

Also front of mind for the incoming DPP will be a major report on sexual assault investigations released in the ACT last week.

That report found flaws in the way police in the ACT had investigated sexual assault complaints, which had meant few cases proceeded to prosecution.

Ms Engel said the issues weren’t confined to the ACT, but she hoped to work with police and other agencies in line with the work she had done in the Northern Territory.

“There certainly are opportunities for growth, and I am looking forward to working collaboratively with the ACT police to ensure that both the DPP and the police are providing the community with the best possible prosecution service,” Ms Engel said.

“And to ensure the complainants are as well supported as they can be if their matter proceeds to trial.”

Police have reviewed a number of cases since an interim report was released.

But the key recommendations in the main report concern training, particularly for police.

The Sofronoff report also made a series of recommendations in a similar vein.

Ms Engel said it was important that anyone working in the sector was properly trained.

“One of the other things that was highlighted in that report is the application of misconceptions about sexual violence and how that feeds into both the police work potentially and also potentially in prosecution work,” she said.

“It is something that I have had a lot of experience working in, especially the Northern Territory, in training police, in training prosecutors, and I will bring that experience to the ACT.”

Ms Engel said she would take on a case load herself, as did Mr Drumgold, but wanted to get to know the office first, to determine what other areas needed attention.

In the meantime, Mr Lehrmann is contemplating his next move, with lawyers considering appealing the defamation case ruling.

That delayed an outcome in a costs hearing last week, which is expected to go Network Ten’s way.