AN Australian man was today ordered to appear in court over a sexual assault in parliament, an alleged crime that fuelled a fresh wave of #MeToo protests in the country.

The 26-year-old man will appear in court in September over the 2019 rape after officers served a summons to his lawyers, police in the Australian capital Canberra said in a statement.

“Police will allege the man had sexual intercourse with a woman without consent at Parliament House,” the statement said.

Former government staffer Brittany Higgins alleged publicly in April that she had been raped by a male colleague in a minister’s office in 2019, following a night out with conservative Liberal Party colleagues.

Her account came as a series of allegations emerged about the mistreatment of women in Australia’s parliament, which culminated in tens of thousands protesting around the country.

At the time Higgins told a huge crowd gathered in Canberra that her story was “a painful reminder to women that it can happen in Parliament House, and can truly happen anywhere”.

“We fundamentally recognise the system is broken, the glass ceiling is still in place,” she said.

The man faces up to 12 years in jail if found guilty. – AFP, August 6, 2021.