Man who threatened life of Brittany Higgins (and her dog) sent 49 hate messages
A man accused of making online threats against Brittany Higgins, her fiance and their dog will return to court in September.
David William Wonnocott, 49, is charged with using a carriage service to menace and threaten to kill in separate incidents relating to openly gay NSW politician Alex Greenwich and Ms Higgins.
Wonnocottâs charges were mentioned briefly in the Tweed Heads Local Court on Monday, where the accused was not required to attend.
The case was adjourned for mention on September 11 for charge certification over the allegations.
Police documents allege Wonnocottâs threats are considered real and taken seriously.
âThere is a serious threat that he may in fact try and carry out a threat of violence in the near future,â court documents said.
Police have records of Wonnocottâs posts, device data and victim impact statements in relation to threats and intimidation.
âIt is the police view that he would be in contact with far right-wing thinking groups with radical views that practice and endorse violence towards members of specific minority groups,â the documents said.
NSW detectives began investigating in February âafter receiving information about threats of violence made through a social media platformâ.
âDetectives uncovered a total of 49 messages with similar threats or offensive content sent from a number of accounts, which were believed to be linked,â police said.
âOne of the accounts was also linked to messages sent on social media to a man in the ACT, allegedly threatening to kill the man, his partner, and their pet dog.â
Ms Higgins received a barrage of abuse on social media after going public with allegations that she was raped by a colleague at Parliament House in 2019 when she was working for a Liberal senator.
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In 2021 former Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lehrmann was charged with sexually assaulting Ms Higgins and pleaded not guilty.
A trial in the ACT Supreme Court was derailed due to juror misconduct.
The charges against him were later dropped because of concerns about the impact a second trial would have on Ms Higginsâ mental health.
Mr Lehrmann denies raping Ms Higgins.
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