A woman who claims she was gang-raped by a group of men celebrating a money weekend initially told police she had enjoyed herself and described the encounters as an “orgy”.
‘Miss B’ was 18 when she had consensual sex with two party members at an Airbnb in New South Wales’ Hunter Valley before she was allegedly sexually assaulted.
The woman, now 20, told a jury on Monday that she was not telling the truth when detectives first interviewed her about a fortnight after the alleged gang rapes.
“At first I thought this was scary, but soon I started to enjoy it,” she told police of the time she spent with the men in an apartment.
“I was never going to talk to the police after my experience with the children as I gave full consent.”
Maurice Hawell, his brother Marius Hawell and their friend Andrew David have pleaded not guilty to a series of charges including aggravated sexual assault.
Three women, Miss A, Miss B and Miss C, told police they were subjected to sexual assault, but cannot identify which men were allegedly responsible.
Maurice Hawell, Marius Hawell and their friend Andrew David (pictured above) have pleaded not guilty to a string of charges including aggravated sexual assault. Three women have told police they were assaulted but cannot identify which men were allegedly responsible.
Miss A and Miss B say they were raped at the same time in a rented apartment for a weekend, while Miss C says she was abused there the next night.
Maurice Hawell, 30, and David, 28, say any sexual relations they had were consensual and deny engaging in certain acts, while Marius Hawell, 22, insists he did not engage in any sexual activity at all.
The three men, all from Sydney, face trial together at Downing Center District Court for participating in a joint criminal enterprise.
The Hawells, David and six other friends booked accommodation on Airbnb in Newcastle from Friday 25 February to Sunday 27 February 2022, ahead of Maurice Hawell’s wedding.
After meeting members of the group at the Cambridge Hotel on Hunter Street on Friday night, Miss A and Miss B agreed to go with them to the nearby Parry Street apartment.
Miss A had consensual sex with one of the men, ‘Matt’, while Miss B had consensual sex in another room with two others who Crowns said were Maurice Hawell and Andrew David.
Miss B told the jury that when she finished having sex with Maurice Hawell and David, a third man, the Crown said was Marius Hawell, entered the room and touched her sexually.
Both women have given evidence that they were then sexually assaulted by at least two men in the room where Miss A and Matt had previously had consensual sex.
Maurice Hawell (pictured) has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges involving three women who alleged they were raped over a weekend. The woman in the photo has no connection to the case.
They told the jury the light was off and they couldn’t see who was raping them.
Matt is not accused of committing any crime at any time and has never been charged with any crime in connection with what happened at the apartment.
When Miss A and Miss B left the flat, they returned to the Cambridge with Matt, where they met up with several of their friends who had been in the pub earlier that night.
“We said we were having an orgy,” Miss B said Monday of what she told her friends about what had happened at the apartment.
‘I said that and (Miss A) said that. “They just started laughing and thinking it was funny.”
When asked why she had described what now allegedly included rape as an “orgy”, Miss B mentally said “that was the best way to describe what had happened”.
Miss B said she was contacted by police several weeks after that night and made a formal statement on March 9.
“I said I gave my consent,” he told the jury.
‘Miss B’ told a jury she had consensual sex in this room with one of the Bucks group, ‘Matt’, and another man the Crown claims is Andrew David.
Miss B said she did not discuss the events at Airbnb with anyone else until she had a conversation with her grandmother almost a year later.
“I told him something had happened to me last February and I told him it had taken a toll on me,” he said.
“I felt like I had to talk to someone about what happened and she was the only person I felt safe with.”
Miss B’s grandmother said that Miss B told her that she and Miss A had gone to a separate room with a man: “she was quite upset and embarrassed.”
Grandma said Miss B told her she ended up in the same room as Miss A, the room had gone dark and Miss A started calling Matt.
“I said, ‘What are you going to do about it?'” Grandma said. “She said, ‘Nan, I just want to forget about it.'”
The day after that conversation, Miss B was with her father when her grandmother called and told her that “something happened” to her daughter.
Maurice Hawell, 30, and Andrew David, 28, say any sexual relations they had were consensual and deny engaging in certain acts, while Marius Hawell, 22 (above), insists he did not engage in any activities. sexual.
“Knowing my daughter, I realized right away that she had frozen and then she started crying,” Miss B’s father said.
The father said Miss B told him she had been having sex with a man when “two or three other boys came into the room”.
‘I said (to Miss B): “Did you give your consent?” and she said, “Just the first guy, not anyone else who came into the room.”
Miss B was upset that her grandmother had violated her trust, but that same day she spoke to her father’s partner.
“I told her I had sex with five men,” said Miss B. “I said that because thinking in my head there were two men on me and seeing three on (Miss A) I assumed there were five men.”
The partner of Miss B’s father testified about that conversation.
He said Miss B told him she had had consensual sex with a man, then another man she had no intention of having sex with came into the room.
This crime scene photo taken by police shows the living room of the Airbnb rented by the men. Miss A and Miss B say they were raped in the middle room shown with the door ajar.
Miss B had told her that the second man left, Miss A came in and three to five men entered the room.
Miss B’s father and his partner testified that the conversation took place on January 30 last year.
Police subsequently contacted Miss B again and on March 28 last year she made a second formal statement.
She told the jury that she had never discussed with Miss A what had allegedly happened to either of them in the apartment.
Miss B said she had originally told police that her alleged rapes were consensual sexual relations because she had not said or done anything to suggest she was not consenting.
Maurice Hawell and David are charged with eight counts of aggravated sexual assault in company and one count each of aggravated sexual touching of another person and attempted aggravated sexual assault in company.
Marius Hawell is charged with six counts of aggravated sexual assault in company and one count each of aggravated sexual touching of another person and attempted aggravated sexual assault in company.
Miss C has not yet presented evidence about what allegedly happened to her.
The trial, before Judge Gina O’Rourke, continues.