A woman sexually harassed by a former High Court judge has delivered a blistering message to the man who “ruined her career”.
One of the women sexually harassed by disgraced by former High Court Justice Dyson Heydon has delivered a blistering message to him on air.
Speaking to 7.30, Alex Eggerking said she “had a really strong sense of justice” but had her faith in a legal career collapse in front of her after her ordeal.
She said snagging a job as an associate for Dyson Heydon was “the absolute pinnacle job for a law graduate” at just age 23.
Little did she know she was entering a culture of harassment, according to new revelations released in the investigation commissioned by the High Court.
“On my third day of being an associate, there were drinks held in the library, the library staff put on drinks. I went back to do some more work up in chambers in the Judge‘s chambers. He came back upstairs after that and hung around while I finished my work,” she told ABC’s 7.30 on Tuesday.
She said she was asked to dinner by Mr Heydon, assuming it was a gesture of interest in her career.
“I was thrilled. I thought this is him offering to take a personal interest in me and become my mentor. And it was a perfectly professional and innocuous conversation, you know, talking about the court, talk about the law, talking about being an associate,” she continued.
Mr Heydon then asked her to “see his desk”.
“I didn’t want to see his desk, and I felt at that point as though he was trying to manipulate me into a situation where I might be alone with him,” Ms Eggerking said, admitting she “really started to panic” when Mr Heydon allegedly asked her to “close the door”.
“I became very uncomfortable, but he was quite insistent, and he had this very quiet presence that didn’t take a lot of argument, and he sort of stood there, waiting for me to follow him … it became so obvious that this had crossed into an extremely unprofessional situation. I felt like I had been manipulated into his bedroom.”
She went on to address her former boss directly, accusing him of destroying her trust in the system she fought so hard to be a part of.
“Dyson Heydon, you ruined my career,” she said.
“You destroyed my love for the law. You destroyed my faith in legal institutions and the legal profession. You made me feel viscerally unsafe on my third day of working for you. You made me feel worthless.
“You treated me like I was an object that you could use when you wanted to with impunity. You don’t deserve to have an AEC. You don’t deserve to have a practising certificate. What I also want to say is that you didn’t get away with it.
“Strong, courageous, vulnerable, bloody determined women stood up and said that is enough, this is what happened to me, and you won’t get away with it.”
Last year, Justice Heydon issued a statement through his lawyers denying “emphatically any allegation of sexual harassment or any offence”.
Lawyers acting for the women have confirmed the settlement agreements with each woman include a Non-Disclosure Agreement preventing disclosure of the amounts of compensation involved.
“After their experience of working in the High Court, Rachael, Chelsea and Alex have been unable to pursue the legal careers that they aspired to. Indeed, they were so severely impacted by what happened that it took them years to come forward to pursue this matter,” workplace lawyer Josh Bornstein said.
“Detailed actuarial and other evidence was prepared in aid of their claims. That actuarial material sought to effectively model the loss of a legal career for a typical High Court associate. Many former High Court associates pursue successful careers as barristers and some are then appointed as judges.”
One former legal assistant, Chelsea Tabart, previously told the Sydney Morning Herald that on her first day working for Justice Heydon nearly a decade ago, he suggested they stop for a drink after an office dinner.
He took her to a private room at a prestigious club, she said, and put his hand on her thigh. She was 22.
Another former associate, Rachael Patterson Collins said Justice Heydon made repeated advances toward her — on one occasion asking if he could kiss her.
When she asked him why she said he replied, “Because you’re beautiful”.
Source: News AU