A 19-year-old woman sent a message to her friend pleading for help and saying she had been kidnapped just minutes before she was allegedly gang-raped at a stag party, a court heard.
Andrew David, 30, and brothers Maurice Hawell, 30, and Marius Hawell, 22, have pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated sexual assault in company, attempted aggravated sexual assault in company and aggravated sexual contact.
The men had been celebrating Maurice’s upcoming wedding with a stag party in Newcastle one weekend in February 2022 when they allegedly sexually assaulted three women.
Prosecutors allege the trio attacked two 18-year-old women on Friday night and a 19-year-old woman the following night.
Maurice and Mr David deny that any sexual activity was non-consensual, while Marius claims he did not take part in any of the sexual incidents during the stag weekend.
The trio have faced a trial lasting several weeks in the New South Wales District Court over the alleged joint criminal enterprise.
In his closing statement on Monday, Crown prosecutor Craig Evans said the jury should ignore “fanciful” evidence presented by Maurice during the trial.
“It’s not credible. It’s not credible. It’s not coherent,” he said.
Andrew David, 30, and brothers Maurice Hawell, 30, and Marius Hawell, 22, have pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated sexual assault in the company of…
Andrew David, 30, and his brothers Maurice Hawell, 30, and Marius Hawell, 22, had been celebrating Maurice’s upcoming wedding.
In his account from Saturday night, Maurice said he approached a 19-year-old woman on the street and that she agreed to have sex with him before checking into the Airbnb.
Mr Evans said the evidence was “totally inconsistent with contemporary evidence”, including CCTV audio and texts the woman had sent to a friend saying she was “in danger and needed help”.
The court heard messages saying “help” and “I’ve been kidnapped” were used, which Evans said was dramatic but showed she felt under pressure to comply with Maurice’s repeated requests.
The court heard the 19-year-old initially said no but relented after Maurice pestered her into having a drink earlier at his rented flat.
She was allegedly taken to a bedroom and pushed onto a bed in a dark room before other men entered, which she told the court made her feel “scared and anxious”.
When Maurice asked her if she wanted to have a threesome with Mr David, the court heard the teenager said no.
Despite her refusal, the men allegedly pinned her to the bed and forced her to perform oral and penetrative sex.
Andrew David, 30, and his brothers Maurice Hawell, 30, and Marius Hawell, 22, were celebrating a stag party in Newcastle in February 2022 when they allegedly sexually assaulted three women.
Their actions showed they intended to pursue group sex “either by request and, if there was no agreement, a declaration of willingness to continue anyway,” the Crown prosecutor told the court.
“They both know what the other is doing and they both continue (their sexual acts) knowing that she is not consenting,” he said.
Marius is then believed to have entered the room and used his phone’s flashlight for illumination.
Mr Evans said his actions meant he was aware the sex was not consensual, as was evident from the woman’s trapped position, but he encouraged it.
Last night, the court heard that Maurice used a false name when he invited an 18-year-old woman back to his Airbnb.
The couple had consensual sex before Maurice began pressuring the teen to allow David to join them, Evans said.
Maurice’s persistence demonstrated his “inclinations toward threesomes or group sex,” according to the prosecutor.
She told the jury the 18-year-old eventually said yes and had consensual sex with Mr David but then had to push him away because he would not listen to her request to stop biting her nipple.
Mr David has not been charged with any offence over the alleged bite, but Mr Evans said it showed his mental state before the alleged rape.
The woman then left the room and spoke to her 18-year-old friend, who had had consensual sex with another bachelor party attendee.
The court provided an image of the Airbnb unit in Newcastle where the sexual assaults allegedly occurred
The women went into a bedroom to retrieve their mobile phones so they could leave, but the court heard the three men pushed them onto beds and raped them.
Both teenagers told the court they were held in a dark room and unable to move, let alone consent.
“(The Hawell brothers and Mr. David) had an agreement to sexually assault or sexually touch (the women), knowing that they were not consenting and that they acted recklessly with their consent,” Evans said.
“This criminal enterprise began the moment they caught (the women) in the dark.”
One of the women told the court a “swarm of people” around her but could not identify who was involved because it was dark.
“The circumstances demonstrate that there was no consent,” Evans said.
He will continue his closing arguments on Tuesday before defense attorneys for the Hawell brothers and Mr. David take their turn.
