Australia: Cabinet Minister accused of rape

A senior member of the Australian government was accused of "historical rape" dating back to the 1980s.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) were on Friday notified of a letter sent anonymously to Prime Minister Scott Morrison and senior members of the Labour and Greens parties Penny Wong and Sarah Hanson-Young, urging the Prime Minister to take immediate action to investigate the alleged incident, Xinhua reported.

The letter included allegations from a now-deceased woman that she was raped at the age of 16 in 1988 by a current Minister from the Morrison government who has not been publicly named.

The New South Wales (NSW) Police said the alleged victim reported the incident in February 2020 and triggered an investigation.

Four months later she told the police that she no longer wished to pursue the complaint before she took her own life the next day.

Hanson-Young said the letter detailed "a disturbing and a very serious allegation of a criminal nature against a senior member of the government," according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Sharman Stone, a former Liberal Minister, urged the government to investigate the rape allegations, saying she hoped the woman's death was not "in vain."