WARNING: Graphic details
Three men have been found guilty of gang-raping three teenage girls at an Airbnb during a stag weekend in Newcastle.
Andrew David, 30, and brothers Maurice Hawell, 30, and Marius Hawell, 22, were tried after pleading not guilty to charges of aggravated sexual assault in company, attempted aggravated sexual assault in company and aggravated sexual contact.
The trio allegedly gang-raped three teenage girls at the Newcastle Airbnb they had rented in February 2022 to celebrate groom-to-be Maurice’s stag do.
Prosecutors said the men sexually assaulted two 18-year-old women on Friday night before attacking a 19-year-old woman the following night.
Brothers Maurice and Marius Howell and their friend Andrew David were charged after hosting an Airbnb stag party in Newcastle for groom-to-be Maurice, 30.
Maurice and Mr David maintained that all sexual activity was consensual, while Marius claimed he did not participate in any of the sexual incidents during the stag weekend.
The three men faced a trial lasting several weeks in the New South Wales District Court over allegations they were involved in a joint criminal enterprise seeking to engage in group sex with or without consent.
On Monday, the jury of eight men and four women reached verdicts on most of the charges.
The jury is still out on a verdict on one count of sexual contact against Maurice and one count against the three men of aggravated sexual assault, which relates to allegations of anal rape.
One of the teenagers told the court that Maurice had tried to touch her sexually as she lay in bed after having consensual sex with another stag party attendee on Friday night.
Harrowing evidence of the young women who were raped at the sexist event included one teenager who said that when she urinated to retrieve her phone, she was pushed backwards onto a bed for sex.
“I don’t want that at all,” she recalled telling the groom-to-be.
The jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on this charge and will continue deliberating.
The 18-year-old and her friend told the court they went into a bedroom to retrieve their phones as they prepared to leave the Airbnb, but were pushed back onto the beds.
One of the teens said she was forced to have penetrative sex with a man she could not see while another man knelt on her arms and put his penis in her mouth.
Although the 18-year-old could not see her attackers because the room was dark, prosecutors said the Hawell brothers and Mr David carried out the sexual assaults.
In a conversation with a friend shortly after the alleged gang rapes, the court heard the alleged victim characterised the incident as “an orgy”.
An 18-year-old girl was unable to see her attackers because the room was dark, according to the prosecution, the Hawell brothers and Mr. David committed the sexual assaults.
Maurice’s barrister Richard Pontello SC told the trial the description was “not very consistent” with the rape allegations.
The court heard the 18-year-old initially told police she had consented to all sexual activities that night, but filed a complaint of sexual assault a year later.
Mr. Pontello argued that his change of mind regarding his affidavit “destroys (his) credibility” regarding consent.
Maurice and Mr David said the 18-year-olds agreed to have group sex and gave no indication they were not consenting during or after the acts.
The three men were charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault in company of others after prosecutors alleged they were involved in a joint criminal enterprise to rape a woman.
Meanwhile, Marius argued that he did not participate in the alleged gang rape and was not even in the room at the time.
The trio were charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault in the company of other persons after prosecutors alleged they were involved in a joint criminal enterprise to rape the woman.
The trio were charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault in the company of other persons after prosecutors alleged they were involved in a joint criminal enterprise to rape the woman.
Jurors found all three men guilty of gang-raping the 18-year-old in the dark bedroom.
At the same time as her friend was allegedly pinned down on the bed next to her, the other 18-year-old said she was held down and stripped naked by a “swarm” of men, the court heard.
She described how she tried to hit one man’s penis as he tried to put it in his mouth, while another man tried to place his free hand on his penis.
An 18-year-old victim said she was held and stripped naked by a “swarm” of men at the Airbnb where her bachelor party was being held.
The teenager said she was then vaginally and anally raped simultaneously, but could not identify any of the men attacking her because the room was so dark.
Prosecutors said the Hawell brothers and Mr. David were involved and charged them all with attempted aggravated sexual assault in company, aggravated sexual contact and two counts of aggravated sexual assault in company of others.
Maurice and Mr David maintain that the teenagers were having consensual group sex, while Marius claims he was neither present nor involved.
Jurors found the trio guilty on three of the charges but were unable to reach a verdict on the anal rape allegations.
The trio were also alleged to have gang-raped a 19-year-old woman inside a darkened Airbnb room on the Saturday night of the bachelor party weekend.
The court heard Maurice had approached the teenager on the street and persuaded her to return to the rented Airbnb for drinks before leaving, but had instead escorted her to a bedroom.
Maurice told the court the teenager had agreed to have sex with him before checking into the Airbnb, which Evans called “fanciful” and “not very credible”.
COURT – BUCKS VIOLATION
The jury has found the men guilty of most of the charges stemming from the harrowing night when the teenage girls attended a stag party and were restrained and raped.
He said the groom-to-be’s claim was “totally inconsistent” with CCTV audio and text messages from the woman who claimed she had been “kidnapped” and was asking for “help”.
Defense attorneys argued the texts were hyperbolic and noted the teen voluntarily went with Maurice to the Airbnb.
The 19-year-old said he pushed her onto a bed and they kissed before asking her if she wanted to have a threesome with him and Mr David.
“What? No,” she said he told her.
Despite her denials, the teenager said David pinned her to the bed by kneeling on her shoulders before forcing his penis into her mouth while Maurice raped her.
She told the court she tried to keep her legs closed but he forced them open before a third man entered the room.
Mr David’s barrister, Sharyn Hall SC, argued the teenager “did not say no” and acted as if she was consenting during the alleged gang rape, so the teens would not have thought otherwise.
Prosecutors alleged that Marius entered the room and used the flashlight on his phone while the men took turns sexually assaulting the 19-year-old.
The court was told the teenager was concerned the third man was filming the alleged gang rape.
Mr. Pontello said the motivation for filing the sexual assault complaint was the fear of being filmed and the video posted on the Internet.
Maurice and Mr. David were each charged with four counts of aggravated sexual assault in company of other persons for the alleged penetrative and oral sexual assaults.
Marius Hawell, Maurice Hawell and Andrew David faced a trial that lasted several weeks. Photo: NewsWire
The jury found all three men guilty of gang-raping the teenager.
Marius was also charged with the alleged gang rape, with prosecutors arguing he had encouraged and aided and abetted the assault after breaking in and providing light.
His lawyer, Scott Corrish, maintained that his client had not been in the room and had not engaged in any sexual activity with the 19-year-old.
“No one has pointed the finger and said that (Marius) committed any criminal sexual act or even said that he was seen without shoes or socks,” he said.
He was charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault in the company of other persons.
The jury found him guilty of those charges.
The jurors were ordered to retire to consider whether they could reach unanimous verdicts on the remaining charges.
