
Christian Porter takes leave as SA coroner calls investigation "incomplete."
Federal Attorney-General Christian Porter has taken sick leave after strongly denying a rape allegation dating back to when he was a teenager.
An emotional Mr Porter on Wednesday revealed himself to be the unnamed subject of media reports about the alleged sexual assault of a woman he knew briefly 33 years ago.
"It just didn't happen," Mr Porter told reporters in Perth. "Could I have forgotten or misconstrued the things that I have read, which are said to have occurred? Absolutely not."
Christian Porter tearfully fronted the media as he denied that he sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl in 1988. https://t.co/iLPsLH3f0A
— Mamamia (@Mamamia) March 3, 2021
The woman - remembered by the attorney-general as a "bright, happy person" - went to police last year but withdrew the complaint before taking her own life in June.
NSW Police has closed its criminal investigation into the allegations over a lack of admissible evidence to proceed.
South Australian coroner David Whittle has asked SA police to further investigate the death.
Police had provided the coroner with a case file on Monday, but the investigation was found to be "incomplete", Mr Whittle said.
"This was particularly evident having regard to information contained in recent media reports," the coroner said in a statement.
JUST IN: SA coroner David Whittle says the investigation into the death of a woman in June 2020 is “incomplete”.
— Kathryn Bermingham (@KatBermingham) March 3, 2021
“Once that investigation has been completed to my satisfaction, I shall determine whether to hold an inquest”. @newscomauHQ pic.twitter.com/bIKgNB2sQl
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