A 23-year-old court clerk was allegedly bullied by senior staff after it was revealed she was in a relationship with a magistrate who was 45 years older.
Ashleigh Petrie died after being hit by a car in October 2019, shortly after her relationship with Victorian magistrate Rodney Higgins, 68, went public.
A whistleblower told the Herald Sun that Ms Petrie was at the centre of a 'vile culture', with sexual harassment and bullying continuing to plague the court.
On one occasion she was allegedly openly ridiculed in a busy courtroom by other staff after they were made aware she was in a relationship with Mr Higgins.
A whistleblower said Ashleigh Petrie (pictured with Rodney Higgins, 68) was at the centre of a 'vile culture' where sexual harassment and bullying continues to plague the courts
Ashleigh Petrie, 23, was in a relationship with a magistrate who was 45 years older before she died in a car crash
'I couldn't believe it, she was 23 and I thought, what are you talking about, you have a duty of care to her... she was destroyed, they bullied her,' the source said.
Senior victim advocates within the court's family violence branch had voiced their concerns about how Ms Petrie was treated, but the source said nothing was done.
The source said a 'vile culture of sexual' and bullying is deeply embedded within the Victorian Magistrates Court system.
'They hire dozens of young girls every year, and she was one of them. She was 19 when she started,' they said.
Daily Mail Australia have put questions about the alleged 'toxic culture' to the Victorian Magistrates Court, but the they have declined to comment.
There is no suggestion Mr Higgins was among those who allegedly bullied Ms Petrie.
The couple's relationship has been thrust into the
